No clear answer as to why athletes still await winning payouts
The richest road race in South Africa is seemingly turning sour after winners are still waiting for their prize money.
With a prize of R1m for the winners of the Mpumalanga Marathon, it was intended to become the biggest and richest road race in South Africa.
But the marathon has now seemingly turned sour, most likely due to miscommunication between the organisers and the athletes.
The inaugural Mpumalanga Marathon (MM) was held on September 14. The three-pronged event consisted of a 42.2km, 21.2km and a 10km race.
According to the organisers, the prize money for the event was more than R3m, of which a prize purse of R1m each for the victors of both the male and female categories (in the 42.2km) were up for grabs.
@lowvelder The winner of the 42.2km race at the Mpumalanga Marathon, Jobo Khatoane, shares his experience. #mpumalanga🇿🇦 #mpumalangamarathon #marathonwinner
However, Lowvelder, received numerous enquiries this week from some runners who did not get their winnings. Miems de Ruiter, mother of Mienke (18), a matriculant of Hoërskool Nelspruit, is one of the unhappy ones.
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“My daughter won the half-marathon race for junior females and thus pocketed an amount of R2 000. Despite numerous efforts to establish what caused the delay, we could not get a clear answer.”
Bennie Burger, the winner of the veterans above 70 years, is also still waiting for his R2 000.
@lowvelder The winner of the 42.2km race at the Mpumalanga Marathon, Jobo Khatoane, arrives at Riverside Mall. #mpumalangamarathon #marathon #marathonwinner #mpumalanga🇿🇦 #riversidemall
“My hair stood on end when I saw the massive first prize. It’s more than the Comrades race,” he said.
Interestingly enough, neither Jobo Khatoane of the Maxed Elite Club in Lesotho nor Tadu Nare of the Nedbank Marathon Club received their R1m, either.
Nick Bester, the well-known Comrades winner and manager of the Nedbank Marathon Club, confirmed that Nare, who is one of his athletes, has not received her prize money. “In a big race such as the MM and the Comrades, it takes months before the prize money is paid out,” he told Lowvelder.
He said there is a plethora of rules and regulations that need to be in place before any payments can be made.
“Among others, the route must be officially verified, the winners’ bank details must be collected and verified and most importantly, the South African Institute for Drug-free Sport must ensure all urine samples of the winning athletes are tested.”
Paul Bester, chairperson of Athletic Mpumalanga, said only once all the doping tests are cleared and results confirmed will the clubs be informed when the payments will be made.
The two bodies responsible for the race day is Born to Win (42.2km) and Run/Walk for Life Nelspruit (21.1km and 10km).
You can find the list of category winners here.
