Defending Comrades Marathon champions Tete Dijana and Alexandra Marazova will return to action at the 2023 edition of the race on June 11, race director Rowyn James said on Thursday morning.

All of the top 10 men and eight of the women from 2022 have signed up for the 87.701km ultra marathon. 

With Gerda Steyn competing after missing last year’s race, there is a possibility that South Africans could win the men’s and women’s titles.

And with pundits expecting the best down times to be broken on the slightly shorter course from Pietermaritzburg to Durban, winners could pocket R1.2m each — R500,000 for the win, R500,000 for a best time and R200,000 for the first South African.

Steyn, who won her fourth Two Oceans crown earlier this year, took the 2019 Comrades, becoming the first woman to break six hours for the up run.

James was talking at the announcement of the Comrades’ newest sponsor, Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS), which will cover the Comrades Underprivileged Runners Programme that accommodates and feeds 800 needy athletes for the race.

The sponsorship will also see the resumption of the Spirit of Comrades awards, with three selected runners being given a one-ounce solid gold medal.

James said a total of 17,920 runners had qualified for the Comrades, of which 15,940 were South African. International runners numbered 1,226 while 754 came from the rest of Africa.

Men comprise 80% of the field with 14,753 to 3,167 women, and 4,413 runners have entered for the first time.