Bongmusa Mthembu (born 27 June 1983) is a South Africa ultramarathon runner.
He was born in Bulwer, a village near Pietermaritzburg, Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa.
After matriculation he left Bulwer for Pietermaritzburg. He was hired as a bricklayer. At that time he was running only for fitness. In 2004 he started to enter races then in 2005 he won the Maritzburg Marathon.
He is known for his achievements at the Comrades Marathon, run annually between Durban and Pietermaritzburg in South Africa, where he is a 3-time winner (2014, 2017 and 2018) and an 8-time gold medal winner, finishing in the top 10 between 2009 and 2019. In 2019 he added to his racing honours by winning the 56 km Two Oceans Marathon in Cape Town.
He has also represented South Africa on the global stage. Mthembu finished 2nd and 3rd at the IAU 100km World Championships in 2016 and 2018 respectively. In 2019 Mthembu represented South Africa at the IAU 50km World Championships in Brasov, Romania where he finished 7th place individually. The South African team took home the gold medal in team scoring.
Major Race Results RacePlaceTimeComrades Marathon 2006 (Up)546:25:19Comrades Marathon 2007 (Down)316:07:35Comrades Marathon 2008 (Up)526:28:44Comrades Marathon 2009 (Down)75:41:52Comrades Marathon 2010 (Down)35:37:49Comrades Marathon 2011 (Up)125:53:03Comrades Marathon 2012 (Down)25:32:42Comrades Marathon 2013 (Up)DNFN/AComrades Marathon 2014 (Down)15:28:34Comrades Marathon 2015 (Up)176:05:01Two Oceans Marathon 2016133:21:39Comrades Marathon 2016 (Down)35:26:39IAU 100 km World Championships 201626:24:06Two Oceans Marathon 201783:14:37Comrades Marathon 2017 (Up)15:35:34Two Oceans Marathon 201853:12:09Comrades Marathon 2018 (Down)15:26:34IAU 100 km World Championships 201836:33:47Two Oceans Marathon 20191 3:08:39Comrades Marathon 2019 (Up)25:31:58IAU 50 km World Championships 201972:50:23
Family
Mthembu is the fourth child in a family of seven children—four boys and three girls. His father died in 1997 and they were raised by his mother. He has a son by the name of Sisanda Mthembu.
References