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Organisers of a popular race in Botswana were forced to suspend its results indefinitely after two batches of winners crossed the finish line at different intervals.
Confusion was witnessed at the 2024 FNB Kazungula Bridge Marathon in Botswana when organisers failed to crown a champion in the 42.2km men’s race as they were unable to identify the bona fide winner.
The event, which took place on Saturday, saw runners from across the continent, including Kenya, participate in various races with some lucrative prizes up for grabs.
However, in the men’s main marathon, race directors had to suspend the declaration of a winner until an investigation was conducted to establish what transpired as two batches of winners crossed the finish line at different intervals.
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21:09 - 20.02.2024
ATHLETICS How change of shoes helped youngster Letsile Tebogo smash world record
Letsile Tebogo ran faster than Michael Johnson and Usain Bolt to set a new world 300m record but that would perhaps not have happened had he not changed his running shoes.
According to Botswana Daily News, a particular group of runners missed some turns within the route as they were traversing through Kasane back to Kazungula, citing an absence of route markings, and as a result, two batches of winners crossed the finish line at different intervals, making it difficult to establish who was the real winner.
Competition director Thomas Ndadziila told the outlet that the pending results would be reconciled by capturing all data collected during the race by marshals and sector heads.
There were no such problems, however, in the women’s race where Kenya’s Kenyans Rholex Kogo and Susan Chebet pocketed P40,000 (Ksh421,245) and P20,000 (Ksh210,622) respectively after finishing second and third.
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09:22 - 23.02.2024
ATHLETICS Justin Gatlin warns Letsile Tebogo's track rivals to brace for a tough season
Retired American track star Justin Gatlin has warned Letsile Tebogo's opponents, including Noah Lyles, to prepare for a tough show since the youngster is out to win everything.
Kogo clocked 2:42:18 while Chebet timed 2:44:55 for the podium places behind Zimbabwe’s Ethel Pangiso who emerged the winner in 2:42:18 to take home P75,000 (Ksh789,834).
Another Kenyan Alyce Koech finished second in the women’s 21km race in 1:19:30 to pocket P15,000 (Ksh157,966) with Namibia’s Lavinia Haitope taking the winner’s prize of P25,000 (Ksh263,278) after stopping the clock at 1:19:24
Zimbabwe’s Rudo Mthanderwe completed the podium in 1:20:02 to take home P10,000 (Ksh105,311).
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