"I'm grateful' - Gordon Lesetedi reflects on fourth Comrades gold medal

Despite missing his target of claiming a maiden top three finish, Gordon Lesetedi is able to reflect on his 2025 Comrades Marathon performance with satisfaction. After a disappointing 21st place finish last year, the 40-year-old bounced back with a 5:36:22 clocking to take ninth position during this year's Down Run.

"I'm grateful," he told #TheTopRunner. "This year I worked hard because if you remember last year I didn't perform well. So I told myself that this year I must finish on the podium. Even though I didn’t mange to get a top three finish, at least I earned my fourth gold medal."

Lesetedi celebrates his fourth place finish during the 2023 Comrades Marathon. Photo Credit: Cuan Walker.

A fourth gold medal to go along with there Wally Hayward Medals and a career best of 5:20:43 for fourth position achieved during the 2023 Down Run, is evidence of an experienced Comrades campaigner. The Pan African Resources top runner who hails from the village of Sekhing in the North West Province but is currently based in Mpumalanga, says success at The Ultimate Human Race requires a long-term view with attention to detail in training.

"Comrades is a very long race. It requires patience. The main thing is that your training must be flawless. You must have done your hill work, speed work and endurance so that you can apply everything on race day."

Lesetedi in action during Comrades 2025, where he earned a fourth career gold medal. Photo Credit: Supplied.

Coached by the legendary John Hamlett who has guided Comrades champions such as Andrew Kelehe, Gift Kelehe and David Gatebe, Lesetedi reveals that the winning mentality in their Dullstroom camp is another important factor underlying his remarkable results since he first ran the world’s most loved ultra marathon in 2013. He says Hamlett sets high standards which has driven his athletes to produce in excess of 70 gold medals over the last two decades.

"It's the law of our camp. It's just that last year we made mistakes. But gold is always the objective. We have Andrew and Gift Kelehe in our camp motivating us because during his days, Andrew Kelehe would bring a gold medal back to the camp. So that became a rule of our training group, that every year we must win at least one gold medal if not more."