South Africa’s queen of ultramarathon running Gerda Steyn has been featured in a short documentary series called “Remember My Name”.
The five-part series, in partnership with sports label Adidas, delves into the narratives of five distinguished female athletes. It is not only commemorating their remarkable accomplishments as South African athletes in their respective disciplines but also shedding light on the challenges faced by women in sports.
The third episode focuses on the golden girl of SA roadrunning, Steyn, who started running at the age of 24 in Dubai where she was working at the time.
The 33-year-old pointed to positive changes in the sports world, and that more female athletes are getting the recognition they deserve.
“I am happy that women are getting the recognition they deserve,” said Steyn.
“Historically, women athletes have been far behind their male counterparts. However, the narrative is changing as more and more female athletes get recognition.
“Becoming a professional athlete was part of my dreams but I was not putting in a lot of effort to ensure that it becomes a reality because I did not think it would be possible.
“I started my running career in my mid-20s and that did not stop me from achieving my goals. I want people to know that nothing is impossible; you can achieve whatever you want if you put your mind to it.”
Steyn’s first major career victory was in the 2018 Two Oceans Marathon, a 56km ultramarathon, In Cape Town.
The same year she finished 13th in the New York Marathon, a standard marathon (42.2km), before improving her placing in New York in the 2019 edition.
Later that year she scored the biggest victory of her career when she won the Comrades Marathon in a record time of 5 hours, 58 minutes and 53 seconds. That made the first woman to complete the up-run Comrades in under six hours.
In 2020, she finished seventh in the London Marathon, and in the same year representing SA at the Tokyo Olympics, she finished 15th.
In another career milestone this year, the Bothaville-born (in Free State) star broke her Two Oceans course record for the fourth time in a row.
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