Comrades champ Gerda proud to run in Phantane club kit, hopes to leave legacy

Gerda Steyn says she is proud to have won the 2024 Comrades Marathon in the green and gold colours of her Phantane Athletic Club.

The Paris Olympics-bound athlete said she hopes to leave a legacy by running for the KwaZulu-Natal nonprofit club that seeks out and develops talented runners from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Steyn, 34, who smashed her Comrades up run record on Sunday, joined Phantane in March 2023 after being with Nedbank Running Club for six years and two with University of Johannesburg AC.

Phantane, founded by running fanatic Mdu Khumalo, is based in Avoca Hills, north of Durban and uses the University of KwaZulu-Natal track to train promising athletes.

Steyn was asked after winning her second consecutive Comrades, and third overall, to add to her record-time Two Oceans victory in April — her fifth title in a row in the Cape ultra-marathon — about her growth in the last half-decade into a South African sporting icon.

“I feel it takes a few years for an athlete to really establish themselves. Sometimes you see athletes come in and perform really well for a year or two and then they leave the scene again,” she said.

“But for me it’s quite important to remain at the highest level for as long as I possibly can. And with that also, I think it has taken me quite a few years to raise awareness or for people to recognise me now, to support me and know my name.

“With that comes a bit of responsibility. I want to use the platform I’ve built for years, [mostly] the past three years, to inspire and motivate many other runners.

“[Sunday], specifically, was a very special race for me in a more personal matter.

“I’m sure everybody was aware I was running for my club kit this morning. It represents my club based here in KwaZulu-Natal — Phantane AC.

“Already, just to be part of this club is something I see as a legacy. The manager of this club [Khumalo] is passionate about finding fresh talent.

“He goes and finds talent in rural areas where others aren’t prepared to go, at a young age and tries to support them with what seems small but for them it can be life-changing. It can be a pair of shoes or just having a bit of guidance or to pick someone up to go to the track.

“I know what it means for young athletes who don’t always have the opportunity or can’t see themselves at that age being champions one day. They don’t see it or it’s not how they’ve been raised, or they have not been exposed to anything like that.

“And for me to contribute a little to that by wearing my club kit was something I feel really proud of.

“Hopefully this will mean something to someone out there and we can see a strong generation of athletes built, and not leave anyone unnoticed because of unfortunate situations or positions they are in.”

Steyn has set herself a sizeable challenge of trying to succeed in an Olympic marathon in the same year as winning a Comrades and Two Oceans. Her win at the finish line at Scottsville Racecourse in Pietermaritzburg on Sunday came just over a month before the Games marathon in Paris on August 11.