Manie Kuhn

The great athlete Manie Kuhn has died.

Johan Diedrich Kuhn hailed from South West Africa (now Namibia). He was always a keen sportsman and played rugby for SWA and then Griquas and also excelled at boxing.

He moved to Durban where he was persuaded to take up distance running and first joined Umbilo & Congella Athletic Club. His original nickname was, in fact, Hanie but somehow this mutated to Manie and stuck. A move to the young Savages Athletic Club saw him rise to prominence as a great Comrades Marathon runner eventually winning 6 gold medals, 10 silver and 5 bronze – a total of 21 races including a win, three seconds and a third. (Gold’s going to the first six in his time)

No doubt he will be best remembered by most for his win in 1967 when he beat Tommy Malone in the closest ever finish in this great race. Oh how the SABC & press have regaled us ever since with the tragic story of how Tommy Malone ran second; an injustice to both men. Manie won fairly and on the day was the better runner but remained humble. At an ‘after’ party the next day at the Plaza Hotel he was asked to speak and said with tears in his eyes that he ‘saw Tommy lying there’, hesitated, but knew he had to take the tape and that ‘Tommy would understand’.

I first saw him at Hoy Park here in Durban when I joined the Durban Lunch Time Runners Club in 1966. I could not believe that anybody could run so fast for so long and he became my inspiration and hero. I really thought I’d ‘arrived’ when I managed to run two laps around the ‘big’ field with him.

I eventually ran many very long training runs with Manie where I learned the art of running far and fast. A year of this saw me reduce my own Comrades time by 3 hours. But, of course, at his best and in a long race I could not hope to compete.

Manie eventually spent the latter part and bulk of his athletic career with the Durban Athletic Club where he served with unsurpassed loyalty first as an athlete and then as a man for all Club events, duties and tasks.

Manie moved to Johannesburg a few years ago. It was here that during a hijacking attempt he was shot. After his recovery he was asked during an interview on SABC TV what had happened. He explained that he was told by the armed hijacker not to move. Manie said “the Dutchman in me said ‘No’ and I went for him.” Manie would always win or go down fighting. Such was the Man.

The running world has lost a truly great athlete and the original ‘Iron Man’ of his day.

‘Tot siens ou maat