Stephen Muzhingi turned 46 on 17 October 2026. Did you know he is one of only a handful of men to win the Comrades Marathon three years running, and the first Zimbabwean to win it at all?
Three straight wins on the world's best known ultra
The Comrades is roughly 90km of road between Durban and Pietermaritzburg, run in alternating "up" and "down" directions. Muzhingi won it in 2009, 2010 and 2011. According to the Comrades Marathon Association's own list of multiple winners, only five men sit on exactly three wins: Dave Bagshaw, Vladimir Kotov, Bongmusa Mthembu, Tete Dijana and Muzhingi.
His first win was a surprise. The Top Runner reports that he took the 2009 Down Run in 5:23:27, nearly ten minutes clear of the pre-race favourite, Russia's Leonid Shvetsov (5:33:10). At the time Russian runners dominated the race, and Muzhingi has said nobody gave him a chance. He came back and won again in 2010.
The one he values most is 2011. That year he ran 5:32:46 to hold off South Africa's Fanie Matshipa (5:34:30) after a build-up full of talk about the runners lined up to beat him. "Winning a competitive race gives you motivation that you are the best," he told The Top Runner. Across his Comrades career he collected nine gold medals, which go to the top ten finishers.
The Two Oceans as well
In April 2012 he added the 56km Two Oceans Ultra Marathon in Cape Town. Athletics Africa reported that he won in 3:08:08 in wet, windy conditions, despite slipping on the muddy grass at the University of Cape Town, and took home R250,000. Fellow Zimbabwean Collen Makaza finished third. The win made Muzhingi the first man since Derek Preiss in 1974 to hold the Comrades and Two Oceans titles at the same time.
That was his only Two Oceans victory, but the race organisers count him among its greats. The Two Oceans Marathon's history of its champions notes that he earned seven Two Oceans gold medals and is one of just three men ever to win both the Two Oceans and the Comrades.
Recognition
Muzhingi last completed the Comrades in 2017, finishing 20th on the Up Run in 6:01:22. Injuries and family hardship followed, including the long illness and death of his wife, Erina. In June 2025 the Comrades Marathon Association invited him to its Breakfast of Champions in Durban and presented him with his winner's jacket, a gesture he told The Top Runner left him lost for words.
Why it still matters for Zimbabwe
Muzhingi's run of wins helped make Zimbabwe a serious name in South African ultra-distance running, a tradition that is still producing results. Marko Mambo won the Two Oceans three times, in 2004, 2005 and 2008. At the 2026 Comrades, the official results show Nobukhosi Tshuma finishing second in the women's race in 5:53:36, with Loveness Madziva sixth. The CMA notes Tshuma made big personal sacrifices, including training in Kenya, to get there.
For young Zimbabwean runners, Muzhingi's career shows the biggest races in the region are within reach. It also shows what it takes: he was coached and trained through a South African club, Bluff Meats, and Tshuma travelled to Kenya to prepare, which says a lot about how hard serious ultra training still is to find at home. With 2026 having been the 99th Comrades, the next test is the 100th edition in 2027, and whether a Zimbabwean can get back to the podium Muzhingi once owned.
Sources
- Top Contenders Back for 2026 Comrades Marathon, Comrades Marathon
- Results and Prizes Confirmed for 2026 Comrades Marathon, Comrades Marathon
- 'I have no words': Muzhingi plans to return to Comrades 2026 after CMA recognition, The Top Runner
- TOM Men's Ultra Marathon: The Ultimate Champions, Two Oceans Marathon
- Zimbabwe's Muzhingi takes 2012 Two Oceans ultra marathon crown, Athletics Africa
- Stephen Muzhingi, Pindula
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