The Cape Town Marathon’s bid for World Marathon Major status is tarnished by a viral incident involving former winner Sihle Mapukata leading the race, highlighting safety concerns and prompting calls for a lifetime ban from Nedbank Running Clubs. Picture: Ayanda Ndamane/Independent Media
As the Cape Town Marathon bids to become a World Marathon Major, the viral video of the ‘rogue’ Nedbank runner who was not part of the elite men’s field leading the event inside the first two minutes does not paint a good picture.
The runner has been identified as Sihle Mapukata and he, in fact, won the Cape Town Marathon back in 2003 and 2004, long before the race held the esteem it does now.
The big issue now is not so much that 49-year-old Mapukata presumably started in the wrong seeding batch, but how he was allowed to get ahead of the elite group of runners.
As TV replays are limited, it’s not clear if he did indeed cross the start line, or if he simply started ahead and joined the race a couple of hundred metres along the course. IOL has attempted to contact Mapukata to find out his version of the events, but he has not yet responded.
