Border runners tackle Comrades

Hopes are high for a possible new course record

After taking five out of the first seven positions including a clean sweep at the 2022 Comrades Marathon, the Nedbank Running Club certainly dominated the event, while also becoming the first-ever team to have an athlete lead from the start to Tete Dijana winning.

Onalenna Khonkobe sprinted off the line so fast, that pundits didn’t think he’d make the halfway mark, yet 67km into the race and halfway down Fields Hill, the youngster handed over the lead baton to his Nedbank RC teammates who never looked back.

It was a plan that worked well for the team, and this year, not only is Khonkobe coming back for a serious attempt at victory, but the Nedbank RC has beefed up, setting six Comrades Marathon camps around the country.

Last year Nedbank RC had one camp under the watchful eyes of coach Dave Adams and all six runners in the camp ran away with golds, including a podium 1-2-3 finish.

Nick Bester, former Comrades Marathon winner and national Nedbank team manager is very excited about this year’s race and the green dream team assembled.

“I can say for sure that in terms of the elite teams, we have the most professional setup and are the most prepared for Comrades Day,” said Bester while visiting the runners in the Dullstroom Camp.

“Last year we only had one camp, but a lot of the athletes who weren’t in the camp and who saw the success of what proper planning does and focus, decided to do camps this year and we now have six fully supported camps around the country.”

Besides the main camp consisting of Comrades winners Dijana and Edward Mothibi with teammates Dan Matshailwe, Joseph Manyedi, Johannes Makgetla, Galaletsang Mekgoe and Adele Broodryk, the other Nedbank RC Comrades camps are situated in Durban, Pietermaritzburg, Cape Town, Klerksdorp and Lesotho.

Besides the local and African (Lesotho and Zimbabwe) athletes in camps, the Nedbank RC will also have a very strong international contingent from all corners of the globe and Bester is confident that several of them have a chance at not only a top 10 finish but also potential winners.

“We have a very good squad that has assembled to join our local athletes such as Jo Fukuda from Japan and Alex Milne from Great Britain in the men’s race and of course Dominika Stelmach from Poland who finished second last year and who is ready for a good one next week.”

Word from the main camp in Dullstroom is that the athletes are ready and there is a whisper in the air about the possibility of a new course record, given that the finish has now returned to the Kingsmead cricket stadium.

Coach Dave Adams is confident that his athletes have what it takes.

“All the training has gone well,” said Adams. “The guys did their last hill session at the Kgaswane mountain resort next to our camp in Rustenburg and are now doing the finishing touches in Dullstroom ahead of the big day on Sunday.”

The Comrades Marathon takes place on Sunday from 5.30am at the Pietermaritzburg City Hall with the finish, 87.7km later at the Kingsmead cricket stadium in Durban. — Levergy

Alexander Zverev rolled into the French Open semifinals on Wednesday a year after leaving the Grand Slam in a wheelchair and said his injury issues in the last 12 months made his achievement a little sweeter.

Zverev was in excruciating pain after suffering a serious ankle injury during his Roland Garros semifinal against Rafa Nadal in 2022 and had surgery to repair his ligaments.

The German’s return was further delayed in September due to a bone oedema issue and he only began playing pain-free earlier this season.

Zverev showed glimpses of his peak form on Wednesday as he beat unseeded Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-4 36 6-3 6-4 in the quarterfinals and the 22nd seed said the agony of last year was not on his mind any more.

“I don’t think about it. I’m going on court to win tennis matches.

“I’m not thinking about what happened last year. I have to talk about it a lot obviously, that’s fine,” Zverev said.

“That’s everybody’s job, but I’m here to win tennis matches. I’m here to go deep in a Grand Slam.

“Grand Slams are tennis history. That’s what you play for.

“I think the two most important things in tennis are Grand Slams and the Olympic Games.

“When you’re in a semifinal or final of either of those, I think that’s very different from being in a final of another tournament.”

Zverev said Roland Garros was a tournament he increasingly looked forward to as his comeback gathered pace.

“I’m happy to be playing the way I’m playing here in Paris,” the 26-year-old said.

“I’m extremely happy with how things are going, but the tournament is not over yet.

“There are still potentially two very difficult matches ahead, and I’m looking forward to that.”

Meanwhile, sixth seed Holger Rune’s poor start in his quarterfinal defeat to Norway’s Casper Ruud proved costly with the Dane littering the court with unforced errors for more than an hour.

The 20-year-old had hoped to make it to his first Grand Slam semi but instead ended up playing catch-up as Ruud cruised through the first two sets in just 68 minutes.

In a repeat of last year’s quarterfinal in Paris, it was Ruud who emerged victorious once more with a 6-1 6-2 3-6 6-3 victory to set up a semifinal against Zverev.

“I wasn’t there the first two sets, but you cannot allow yourself to do that when you play a player like Casper, and any player at the top of the game, because it’s too long of a way back,” Rune said.

“I think I started very, very bad, unfortunately. I didn’t find my level at all the first two sets.

“It’s tough. Like the first two sets, I didn’t really get the chance to see how well he played because I missed so many shots.

“In the third and fourth set I started to play better, and I thought he still played good.”

Rune made 30 unforced errors in those two sets and hardly put any pressure on his opponent.

“I didn’t feel good. I didn’t play well. But that’s life sometimes.

“You cannot always find your best level,” the Dane said.

“I tried everything I could to get some rhythm and try to get back on track.

“Managed to come back in the third, but it’s late, you know when you waste two sets like this.”

Rune upped his game in the third set, putting more power into his shots and stretching Ruud who briefly struggled for answers.

But the 24-year-old Ruud bounced back in the fourth and despite Rune fending off four match points, he was beaten on the fifth as the Norwegian took revenge for last month’s defeat to his Scandinavian rival in Rome.

“We have another Grand Slam (Wimbledon) around the corner, so I hope to be stronger there,” Rune said.

“I’m happy that the clay season is over now. I’m ready to move on. Just focused on the grass now. ”—