THE COMRADES RETROSPECTIVE WINNERS JACKET RECIPIENTS

Since 2015, the Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) has been awarding Winners Jackets to male and female winners of the race.

2016 saw the retrospective awarding of Winners Jackets to three previous winners at the official Comrades race day prize giving ceremony; with this becoming a celebratory facet to race week festivities until all surviving former Comrades Marathon winners have been honoured with their very own Winners Jackets.

This year, two remarkable individuals will receive the grand acknowledgement at this year’s Comrades Champions Prizegiving Breakfast on Monday, 10 June 2024. They are Rae Bisschoff and Sipho Ngomane, both of whom in their own right, have made their mark on The Ultimate Human Race.

Rae Bisschoff

In 1998 Rae Bischoff made South Africa proud when she took the women’s title, a long break since 1993, when fellow South African Tilda Tearle was crowned the women’s champion. Rae, a veteran contender during that Up Run, had Valentina Liakhova close on her heels, with a mere 19 seconds between them, but Rae managed to cross the finish line in 6:38:57, scooping first position.

Sipho Ngomane

Sipho ran his first Comrades Marathon in 2003. In 2005, a Down Run, he surprised the world when he won in 5:27:11, with Oleg Kharitonov close behind. What made the victory even sweeter is that Sipho had to run in borrowed shoes after his had been stolen. He was only 23 at the time he claimed his victory.