Jabu Mbuli explains the Soweto Marathon prize money delay

The People’s Race was held at Nasrec on 29 November, later than its traditional first-week-of-November slot, due to the World Summit that took place at the same venue last year.

Despite the successful staging of the event, none of the top finishers have yet received their prize money.

Lesotho’s Joseph Seutloali claimed victory in the men’s race in 2 hours, 20 minutes and 09 seconds to earn R250 000.

He was followed by South Africa’s Ntsindiso Mphakathi in second place (2:20:24), while North West province star Onalenna Khonkhobe finished third in 2:20:29.

In the women’s race, Kenya’s Margaret Jepchumba took the honours in 2:34:33, ahead of Zambia’s Elizabeth Mokoloma (2:35:59), with South African star Gerda Steyn finishing third on her Soweto Marathon debut in 2:37:00.

However, Seutloali confirmed to SABC Sport that he is still waiting for his winner’s cheque, with Mbuli explaining that organisers cannot release the funds until all doping results are finalised.

“Normally we wait for the doping results before any payment is processed, and as far as I know we have not yet received those results,” Mbuli said. 

“We cannot process payments until the results are officially released to us. The delay is not on our part but due to the outstanding doping results.”

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Mbuli outlined the process, noting that once athletes complete the required documentation, Central Gauteng Athletics forwards the results to Athletics South Africa. 

“If there are no positive cases, then the race organisers can proceed with the payments. According to the rules, once the results are released, organisers have 60 days to process the payments,” he explained.

He further assured athletes that the prize money is ready and will be paid as soon as clearance is received. 

“We can assure the runners that they will be paid once the results are out and they are cleared. Unfortunately, the payment depends on external factors, and for that reason we cannot give a specific timeframe.”

Mbuli also pointed to logistical challenges that contributed to the delay. “With the Bloemfontein laboratory being closed, samples now have to be sent out of the country, which makes it difficult to get speedy results. The race was also moved to a later date, which fell during the holiday period, and all these factors have contributed to the delay,” he added.