Tete Dijana’s rise from obscurity to victory in the Comrades Marathon in 2022 has sparked awe and admiration among South Africans. On Sunday, August 22, 2022, in the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, Dijana triumphed in the Comrades Marathon, becoming the first woman to do it at only her second attempt. Tete Dijana finished the 90-kilometer race between Pietermaritzburg and Durban in a remarkable time of 5 hours, 30 minutes, and 38 seconds. This was the first running of the Comrades Marathon since 2019, with the previous two runnings being canceled owing to the Covid-19 virus outbreak. Edward Mothibi, the defending winner and a teammate of Dijana’s from the Nedbank Runners Club, finished in second place.
Tete Morena Dijana is originally from the city of Mahikeng, which is located in the province of the North West. In 2017, he uprooted his life and moved to Rustenburg in order to advance his career as a runner.
He graduated from Lapologang High School in Mmabatho, where he had been attending classes.
Tete Dijana joined the Nedbank Running Club on August 28th, 2022, making the date of her membership official. Tete Morena Dijana moved to Rustenburg Peter Gaebetse, a former elite runner in the Comrades Marathon and current club owner at Platinum Financial Services, noticed Dijana and decided to mentor him. He is now Dijana’s coach. Tete Dijana was initially guided by Gaebetse, who was assisted in this endeavor by Shadrack Hoff, a former South African 5000-meter record holder. He parted ways with Peter Gaebetse’s Platinum Financial Services club at the beginning of 2019 in order to become a member of Mpolokeng Pio’s group in Klerksdorp. He held the position of a security guard at the North West University campus in Mahikeng during his employment there. On occasion, Dijana would report to training in the morning and then again in the afternoon, which required him to leave his employment to work the night shift. At the beginning of the year 2022, he competed in the Nedbank Runified 50km competition and finished in second place, behind Stephen Mokoka. Tete Dijana received a total of R65,000 in compensation for his efforts after finishing in second place in the Comrades Marathon. In addition, he was awarded an additional R25,000 for being the second South African runner to cross the finish line.
When there were fewer than 10 kilometers left in the 95th Comrades Marathon, Dijana put in a push that caused him to pass the defending champion, Edward Mothibi, and win the race. Tete Dijana walked away with a cool R260 000 in prize money for his victory in the 2022 Comrades Marathon and an additional R100 000 as the first South African home. In 2019, Dijana competed in his first Comrades Marathon and ended in 50th place.
Tete Dijana, who was competing in the most important race of his life, was able to time his performance on Sunday to perfection, winning the Comrades Marathon in KwaZulu-Natal by pulling away from the defending champion Edward Mothibi in the later stages of the race.
Onalenna Khonkhobe claimed the early lead in the 90-kilometer race between Pietermaritzburg and Durban, building a significant distance before the sun came out in the morning, and he maintained his advantage for most of the competition.
Khonkhobe’s wheels ultimately fell off, and despite his best efforts, he was passed in the race by fellow South African competitors Mothibi and Dijana with fewer than 20 kilometers left to go in the competition. Khonkhobe’s attempt was unsuccessful. Khonkhobe broke the record for the quickest time any runner has ever reached Drummond with his time of 2:25:51, which he accomplished by racing through the halfway mark. This is the quickest that any runner has ever made it to Drummond in their race. The ‘down’ run was won by Dijana in 5:30:38 after she put in an effort that caused Mothibi to lose ground with less than 10 kilometers remaining in the race. Prize money totaling R260 000 was awarded to the former security guard for his achievement, and he also received an additional R100 000 for being the first South African home. Mothibi, who had previously won the “up” race in 2019, finished in second place with a time of 5:33:46, and Dan Moselakwe came in third with a time of 5:36:25.
At the time of this writing his Networth is still under review
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