Zimbabwe woman runner stripped of 10km race title in South Africa
27/5/2008 16:36
Zimbabwean middle-distance woman runner Olivia Chitate was left in tears
after being stripped of the title of the Chartsworth 10km race in South Africa
on Thursday last week, according to The Herald yesterday.
As millions of
South Africans celebrated Women's Day last Thursday, Chitate was not shedding
tears of joy for winning the race but she was full of tears after crossing the
finish line first, only to be told she didn't qualify for the
competition.
According to reports from Johannesburg, Chitate was competing in
the race without a permit and the athlete, who is based in Pretoria, had to
leave without a cent for her efforts.
Race referee Celi Makhoba afterwards
said the rule disqualifying her from winning the prize money was an
International Athletics Associations Federation rule and applies to any athlete
running outside his or her country.
Jenna Challener was declared the winner
with a time of 38:14.
Chitate is among a host of Zimbabwean middle and
long-distance runners who have over the past few years turned South Africa into
their base.
Xinhua
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