Russian athletes among top contenders at Comrades

The 95th marathon will be run on Sunday starting at Pietermaritzburg City and finishing at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. 

Russia has been banned from participating in various international sporting events since the invasion of neighbouring Ukraine in February this year.

The country's clubs have been banned by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ) from participating in the Champions League and all other European competitions.

The South African government has repeatedly called for peaceful negotiations between Russia and Ukraine since the beginning of the war.

Meanwhile, Comrades Marathon’s marketing manager Delaine Cools says South Africans and the world are readily looking forward to the marathon after a two-year break due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"We have got about 70 countries descending on South Africa this year and the biggest international contentions are coming from the UK, Brazil, India, USA, Germany and a host of other countries, making it a very very international race this year.

“This is possibly the most thought after comrade marathon in the history of the race, mostly because the only other time that the marathon was ever cancelled was during the second world war between 1941 and 1945.

And now with a very different kind of war Covid-19 having hampered the hosting of the marathon , everyone has missed it," says Cools.

Russia’s Alexandra Morozova is among the top women contenders in the Ultimate Human Race.

South Africa's Ann Ashworth, Charne Bosman, Adele Broodryk and Jenna Challenor are also among the favourites to win the race.

Listen to Delaine Cools below: 

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