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The centennial Marathon of Comrades will take place on its original date of June 13 next year and not in September as has been widely speculated.
Athletics South Africa (ASA) President Aleck Skhosana says they have had a meeting with the Marathon Comrades Association (CMA) and told them that a date change was not advisable.
“We have an established athletic schedule that has worked best over the years.
“We have told them that while we understand the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, we do not believe that changing things is the way forward.”
Like most athletic events, the 2019 Comrades Marathon was canceled and the CMA, in its quest to ensure that the centennial event of the Durban-Pietermaritzburg race would take place, were toying with the idea of a September date so that the pandemic had not completely dissipated. by June.
But a date change for the world famous ultra, given its popularity, would have a negative impact on the dates of other road races and sporting events.
And so the CMA, which had asked for a September date when it applied to KwaZulu-Natal Athletics for next year’s calendar, will revert to the original date of June 13.
Skhosana, who confirmed that they have asked the government for permission to resume athletic activity in November, said the sport’s governing body would prefer the status quo be maintained next year.
“There is a 2021 calendar that has to be approved (by ASA) and then it will go to the government for approval. Once we have the go-ahead from the government, we will publish the calendar.”
The ASA president said the resumption of athletics next month will take place under strict observance of government rules and protocols and cautioned against the excitement that the sport has returned.
“The main reason for the interruption of the athletics as a whole in March was for the safety of everyone involved.
“Therefore, it is important that we comply with the rules and we have requested permission from the government in terms of the number of people who could participate in the events that will take place.”
He said they will have a zero tolerance policy for non-compliance.
“While we will allow the events to go ahead, if the race organizers and athletes do not comply, we will not think twice about canceling or stopping them,” he warned.
Skhosana would not say which of the events will take place, but it is believed that only those that were originally scheduled for November / December on the 2020 calendar are considered.
“We have received those races and tournaments that must go ahead and we will present them to the government for approval in terms of the numbers and how they should go forward.”
For the road race, the popular Soweto Marathon and the KaapseHoop Marathon in Mbombela are in the mix, but both are unlikely to take place.
The KaapseHoop organizers had opened the registration, but then announced that the race could not continue as usual, but rather as a virtual race.
