Comrades doubles prize money

David Isaacson Sports reporter
Tete Morena Dijana pocketed R260,000 for winning the Comrades Marathon last year, but the first prize has been bumped up to R500,000 for the 2023 edition.
Tete Morena Dijana pocketed R260,000 for winning the Comrades Marathon last year, but the first prize has been bumped up to R500,000 for the 2023 edition.
Image: Darren Stewart/Gallo Images

The Comrades Marathon Association has almost doubled its prize purse to R4.31m, it said in a statement on Saturday.

The men’s and women’s winners of the June 11 ultra-marathon from Pietermaritzburg to Durban will pocket R500,000, up from R260,000, the runners-up will be paid R250,000 and the 10th-placed finishers will get R20,000. 

The CMA said the move demonstrated its commitment to “restore the prize money back to the levels before the Covid-19 pandemic”.

A R500,000 bonus would also be paid to anyone breaking the Down Run best times — David Gatebe’s 5 hr 18 min 19 sec and Frith van der Merwe’s 5:54:43 from 1989.

The first South African across the line would get R200,000 and the first runner from KwaZulu-Natal would be paid R60,000.

The first 10 men and women would also be awarded with one-ounce gold medals which, valued at around R38,000, is higher than the prize money for places seven to 10.

“All other age category and team prizes have been increased by similar 90% margins,” CMA said in the statement.

Top-10 prize money: 

First place: R500,000

2nd: R250,000

3rd: R180,000

4th: R90,000

5th: R70,000

6th: R40,000

7th: R35,000

8th: R30,000

9th: R25,000

10th: R20,000

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