The first black runner to win the Comrades Marathon, Sam Tshabalala blazed a path that was followed by 11 other black South African athletes.
Tshabalala passed away on the evening of Sunday, 2 October at the age of 65.
The 1989 edition of the Comrades is still best remembered for Tshabalala’s win with a time of 5:35:51.
Wearing his cap backwards, Tshabalala left the chasing pack in his dust as he wrote a piece of history, in what was only his third Comrades run.
Black athletes were first allowed to run the Comrades in 1975.
Willie Mtolo, who finished as runner-up in 1989 by four minutes, said he and Tshabalala had stayed good friends since the race.
“Sam was at Comrades in 2019 and it was really good to catch up with him after many years,” said Mtolo. “He was a very good person. We ran a great race in 1989 and remained very good friends since then.
“We had a lot to talk about every time that we met. I know that he was involved in assisting youngsters in his village with their running. That was Sam for you – helpful, encouraging, motivating and a true inspiration. I will always remember him.”
Former rival Nick Bester paid tribute to the late runner: “Sad news. I will never forget Sam during the 1989 Comrades Marathon when he passed me with his running cap and he was wearing the cap with the flap at the back covering his neck and he went on to win the race as the first ever black athlete to do so. Willie Mtolo was in 2nd place, Jean Marc Belloq in 3rd and I in 4th position.
“Sam also ran the Comrades Marathon again many years later after he survived a terrible motor accident. A true Comrades Marathon Champion, he was always down to earth and humble.”
While Tshabalala never won the Comrades again, he maintained an incredible consistency, adding a further 12 silver medals to his tally.
This includes the likes of Jetman Msuthu, Fusi Nhlapo, Sipho Ngomane, and Andrew Kelehe and Zimbabwean Stephen Muzhingi
Since Tshabalala’s landmark run in 1989, a further 12 black athletes have won the Comrades, 11 of those South African.
CMA Chairperson, Mqondisi Ngcobo paid tribute to Tshabalala.
“We live in gratitude to a Comrades Winner, Hero and Legend. What Mr Tshabalala did for ultra-running and our generation of athletes is part and parcel of our road-running history and great South African heritage. He showed us how to be courageous, great and at the same time humble and real.”
Ngcobo adds, “Sam was a trailblazer and pioneer. He was someone who lived out the noble attributes of The Ultimate Human Race by his determined nature, will to succeed and continuously giving of his best. He will be sadly missed by the Comrades community and everyone who knew him.”
“On behalf of the ASA Board and entire athletics family, I convey our deepest condolences to his wife Julia, four sons, three daughters, his athletes, friends and the Zamdela community,” said James Moloi, the president of Athletics South Africa. “He was a lovable person who will be sorely missed.”