Diminutive winner Dijana on his way to be one of Comrades' greatest

Runner says he was positive he would win this year's race

- By Kgomotso Mokoena

When Comrades Marathon winner Tete Dijana welcomed the Sunday World crew to his coach Johan's swanky house in the rolling hills of Cashan, Rustenburg, where he is recovering together with his teammates, he walked without any discomfort or pain. He didn't shuffle along; in fact, he looked like he could kill another marathon with ease.

This is all the while other runners' bodies are bruised, knees battered, ankles pounded and hobbling like penguins. Others have just been discharged from hospitals.

The diminutive Dijana does not look like a man who burnt the tarmac, snacked on the 90km and stormed to his third Comrades victory, clocking a time of 5:25:28 in this year's down run edition of the Ultimate Human Race, as the race is dotingly known. It was his third win in four years, and he's well on his way to becoming one of Comrades' greatest.

The 37-year-old former security guard made up for the “witchcraft” of last year, where he endured his worst performance yet, failing to finish the race and missing out on a top 10 spot. The Mahikeng-born speedster says that last year's catastrophe was the saddest moment of his life, and a dark period that he would want forget soonest.