Athletics bosses have opened up can of worms

It happened so quickly it was as if someone had performed a magic trick in the middle of the street. The media vehicle turned a corner and, like a rabbit on a stage, Irvette van Zyl was gone. There was no magician in sight, and no trimmed black hat lying on the floor where she once stood. She had simply vanished.

It took a few moments for the journalists in the unmarked van to realise what had happened, and once reality set in, there was no turning back.

Van Zyl had gone through the park, following the lead bike which was marked, and the other four athletes in the lead group had tracked the media vehicle which had taken a detour. They were running the wrong way.

The four athletes in the lead pack were so focused on the race, they didn’t realise what had happened, and Kesa Molotsane’s late charge suggests she would have put up a spectacular fight for victory. She was nonetheless pulled to the side shortly after the race and Van Zyl, who had run the full distance, was declared the winner of the Pietermaritzburg leg of the Spar Women’s Grand Prix 10km series.

The first four athletes across the line were subsequently disqualified for running around 600m short. The athletes affected were visibly upset and fingers were pointed back and forth, but the decision made by the referees (which was upheld by a jury of appeal) was the only seemingly rational one to be made.

The marshals could be blamed, as could the race organisers and those operating the lead vehicles. The athletes could also shoulder some blame for not knowing the route in advance, as could the team managers for not pinpointing a part of the course which could create confusion.

As much as the athletes may have felt aggrieved for being scratched from the results, however, it’s impossible to turn back the clock.

The disqualification, however, of all four runners – along with Lebogang Phalula, who lost her way later in the race – was overturned this week by the KwaZulu-Natal Athletics (KZNA) man- agement committee, which went over the heads of the race referees and the jury of appeal, taking the blame for the blunder and leaving behind a trail of uncertainty.

While the provincial body wants all five reinstated athletes added to the results, doing so fairly is a seemingly impossible task, and the decision has reopened a can of worms.

The organisers of the lucrative Spar Grand Prix series have also been told to adjust their overall rankings table by giving points to the reinstated individuals.

And while this may be good news for the likes of Glenrose Xaba and Kesa Molotsane, who should take the top two places after the final leg of the campaign in Joburg in October if they receive points from the Pietermaritzburg race, it could be a blow to the likes of Van Zyl and podium contenders Rudo Mhonderwa and Rutendo Nyahora who are likely to lose money over the decision.

It may have seemed unfair to disqualify the athletes, as they did not purposely cheat, but disqualification is really the only applicable option when athletes run short, and if shirts behind desks are to make decisions which undermine those made by the officials appointed to make them, they should also offer solutions.

Taking blame and demanding resolutions be found is fine, but with no real options in place to solve the problem without causing further damage, KZNA has reignited an issue that seemed to be resolved, and all fingers now are likely to be directed at the provincial body.

They might find problems don’t simply resolve themselves. After all, there’s no such thing as magic.