Comrades legend Wally Hayward dies

Comrades legend Wally Hayward has died at the age of 97. The Comrades Marathon Association says the veteran runner died at an old age home in Johannesburg last night. Hayward's athletic career spanned a period of 60 years, during which he competed and excelled at distances from 100 metres to 100 miles. He won his first Comrades Marathon at the age of 21 in 1930. He represented South Africa in the Empire and Olympic Games and set world records for ultra-marathon distances. Hayward’s most dramatic moment came in 1989 when he completed the Comrades down run at the age of 80. The association says as one of the great characters of the race, Hayward will be cherished as an icon.