Comrades cheating probe not yet complete, says association
The Comrades Marathon Association has clarified that despite social media leaks about some runners who are being probed for allegedly cheating, investigations are not yet complete.
The association released a statement on Thursday, reinforcing its zero-tolerance approach to cheating and adding that it was working with tip-offs from concerned participants.
“The office has received several tip-offs from concerned participants and spectators who have reported several instances of suspected cheating within the duration of the race.
“In addition, the CMA has continued to receive information from athletes and clubs regarding the submission of fraudulent qualifying information,” the statement said.
READ MORE: Comrades Marathon officials probe race cheating claims
Comrades Race and Operations Manager Ann Ashworth said the association's investigations are limited to pre-race day cheats, and those implicated in cheating on race day will be provided to KwaZulu-Natal Athletics for disciplinary action.
“There are four types of offences that we are investigating, and all of those investigations remain ongoing. I would estimate those to be in the region of about ten race-day cheats and about 30 pre-race cheats.”
The four cheating categories include pre-race, the submission of false qualifying times, course-cutting and relay runs, and batch jumping.
Ashworth said the most common misconduct is the submission of modified qualifying times, which is often picked up by whistleblowers and athletics clubs when they verify their members’ running times.
Meanwhile, three-time Comrades Marathon finisher Kgomotso Diphoko says most people are tempted to cheat when they fall short of qualifying to participate in the globally celebrated ultra marathon.
Dubbed the ultimate human race, qualifying for the Comrades Marathon starts months before the 90-kilometre race in June.
Diphoko, who beat his personal best by completing this year's uprun from Durban to Pietermaritzburg in 8 hours and 3 minutes, shared why he thinks some runners may try to cheat the system.
“You need to have a qualifying marathon time of 42.2 kilometres of a time 4 hours 50 minutes or less. There are numerous races where athletes can go out and qualify for the Comrades Marathon. What stands out for me is that some runners don’t get to finish a standard marathon at that time and yet have the ambition of running the Comrades.”
On the next steps, Ashworth says the association can only deal with pre-race day transgressions, while race-day cheating cases are forwarded to KwaZulu-Natal Athletics for further action.
“We’ve handed over the information that we have to KZNA. We’ve asked them whether they require any further assistance on our part, and we are waiting for a response. The race referees have been fully in the loop both during our investigation and our onward reporting to KZNA, and I have not received any feedback from them so far.
“In so far as CMA can the pre-race cheats, we can issue a statement as soon as our disciplinary process is complete. We have three athletes yet to investigate but we have a list of athletes that we have already notified, and that publication will be done as soon as we have engaged with the last three athletes on our list.”
She said the announcement of the race day cheats and the applicable sanctions can only be done by KZNA.
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