Centurion - South African long-distance running sensation Gerda Steyn on Thursday joined KwaZulu-Natal-based Phantane Athletics Club.
It means that the three-time Two Oceans Marathon and Comrades Marathon champion will be running in the colours of Phantane for all of her races on South African soil in the coming months.
This will include the Two Ocean Marathon on 15 April.
In 2022, Steyn broke Frith van der Merwe’s longstanding Two Oceans course record (3hr 30min 36sec, set in 1989) when she clocked 3:29:42 for the 56km ultra marathon as she won her third consecutive title in the event.
Steyn, now aged 33, also won in 2018, clocking 3:39:31, and scored a repeat win in 2019 with a 3:31:28, finish, less than a minute outside the then course record. (There race did not take place in 2020 or 2021 due to Covid-19).
Steyn therefore currently has three wins, placing her joint second on the all-time list of Two Oceans winners alongside fellow three-time women’s winners Bev Malan (1982, 1983 and 1985), Angelina Sephooa (1997, 1998 and 1999) and Olesya Nugalieva (2008, 2010 and 2011), as well as men’s winners Siphiwe Gqele (1983, 1984 and 1985) and Marko Mambo (2004, 2005 and 2008).
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Only two athletes have won the race four times, and both are women: Monica Drogemoller (1988, 1990, 1991 and 1992) and Elana Nugalieva (2004, 2005, 2009 and 2021).
If Steyn wins again in 2023, she will not only join that elite group, but will also become the first athlete to post four consecutive wins in the event, and become the first runner to win a fourth title while also being the course record-holder.
When asked about her decision to join the Phantane club, Steyn said: “It is such an honour to represent Phantane Athletics Club. The club prides itself on the development of athletes and to be part of the club feels incredible.”
Club manager, Mdu Khumalo, said that Steyn joining the club is a huge milestone for Phantane: “It is a privilege to have an elite runner like Gerda running in our colours.”
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