Comrades' Wally Hayward dies
2 May 2006
With the running of the world-famous Comrades Marathon less than a month away, the marathon's organising association has with great sadness announced the death of Wally Hayward, at the age of 97. An icon and hero of the race, Hayward last ran the Comrades in 1989 - at the age of 80.
Hayward's athletic career spanned a period of 60 years, during which he competed and excelled at distances from 100m to 100 miles.
He competed on the track in his early twenties, and represented South Africa in the Empire and Olympic Games in the standard marathon. He also set world records for ultra-marathon distances, but remains best known for his achievements in the Comrades.
First win at age 21
Hayward won his first Comrades Marathon at the age of 21 in 1930, after having won the national 10-mile championship earlier in the year. It was an up run, which he won in a time of 7hrs 27min, after which he returned to racing shorter
distances.
By the time he returned to the Comrades Marathon 20 years later, he had established himself as the national champion over distance from three miles to the marathon.
Hyward was discounted as a serious contender in his return race of 1950 because of his age - he was 41 years old. But he proved the critics wrong by taking the lead at halfway, winning the marathon in a time of 6hrs 46min.
Slashed the record
The following year, 1951, he powered his way to a 6hrs 14min victory, slashing 7min 57sec off Johannes Coleman's 1939 record for the down run.
Hayward missed the 1952 Comrades Marathon when he competed for South Africa in the Helsinki Olympic Games, but triumphantly returned to the race again in 1953 when he become the first athlete to smash through the six-hour barrier in a time of 5hrs 52min. The following year, 1954, he broke his own up run record, with a win in 6hrs 12min.
In 1953, Hayward travelled to
England where he established records in the London to Brighton Marathon, the 100-miler Bath to London, and the 24-hour track race.
Africa's sportsman of the year
In 1953, he was also awarded the Helm's Foundation Award for the Outstanding Sportsman of the Year for the African Continent. However, his visit to England cost him dearly, when the South African Athletic and Cycling Association declared him a professional for allegedly accepting donations for expenses in 1954.
His amateur status was reinstated in 1974 only, after which he professed little appetite for racing, but nonetheless attended the finish of the Comrades Marathon each year to inspire and encourage other runners.
Several years later, he was persuaded by friends to participate in the 1988 Comrades Marathon. The nation was stunned as the 79-year-old hero crossed the finish line in a remarkable 9hrs 44min, beating more than half the field.
Most
dramatic moment
Wally's most dramatic moment came the following year, in 1989, when he completed the down run at the age of 80. There was hardly a dry eye in the stadium as he staggered across the line in an obviously distressed state, making the cut-off time by a mere 1min 57sec, after which he finally quit the race for good. To this day, he has the distinction in the record books of being the oldest finisher in the history of the Comrades Marathon.
Hayward was decorated during World War Two, being made a Member of the British Empire.
He was a multiple winner and owned the records in most South Africa's best known races, as well as numerous overseas records as well. In addition, he was an Olympian, a Championship medallist and a decorated war hero, an inspiration and hero to thousands of runners.
Wally Hayward was certainly a legend in his lifetime.
One of the great characters of the Comrades Marathon, he will be remembered as one of South
Africa's all-time sporting legends.
SouthAfrica.info reporter
| 
