Ellina Mhlanga in Pretoria, South Africa
AFRICAN Union Sports Council (AUSC) Region 5 chief executive Stanley Mutoya has emphasised the importance of inclusivity as the region brace for the regional marathon scheduled for tomorrow in Pretoria, South Africa.
The event includes 21km, 10km and 5km races.
The half marathon is the main event of the day, with the winners in both the men’s and women’s categories receiving R50 000.
There will also be a one-mile race for athletes with disabilities.
Speaking at a media briefing yesterday, Mutoya said they are intensifying their efforts to push for inclusion within the region.
“We are intensifying the inclusion. We are calling it inclusion revolution.
“We are creating an environment where everyone is welcome, where everyone finds space and is invited.
“That’s why earlier I said we are a home, and in the home everyone is welcome. Therefore, we are increasing visibility of our athletes with disabilities,” said Mutoya.
With more athletes with disabilities wanting to be part of the event, Mutoya said they are looking at having more categories in the future.
“I know we are under quite some, I don’t want to call it pressure, but we are also getting enquiries as to whether we will go beyond just one mile. Such is the interest.
“So, it’s in the pipeline, but I can tell you that the excitement is also coming up.
“You will see that as we go, we are now going to start looking into how we also do classification so we create more categories for the athletes who also compete fairly within the categories.
“For now, we are doing T53 and T54, which takes most of the categories that we are offering right now, but we also want to open it up even for other categories that can be part of it. So, this is exciting,” said Mutoya.
More than 5 000 participants have registered for the event, across the different races on offer.
“We have surpassed already the numbers that we had from last year, and that is also a good show, of course, and a vote of confidence from our people.
“We are saying we are not just delivering a road race; we are delivering an experience. We are selling an experience, and we want people to have an experience.”
This is the second consecutive edition being held in South Africa, having hosted the regional marathon last year on its return after a five-year hiatus.
The event is running under the theme “Africa United.”
Athletics South Africa Road Running chair Enoch Skosana said that with the World Athletics Championships coming next year, the regional marathon is an opportunity for athletes to prepare themselves.
“On behalf of Athletics South Africa, this is going to be an opportunity for our athletes in South Africa, the whole of Africa, to come and compete in this event.
“Because come next year, 2027, we are facing the World Championships.
“So, this event will give our African athletes an opportunity to test themselves before next year, 2027,” said Skosana.
Initially, indications were that all 10 member countries would send teams.
However, only six — Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, South Africa, Namibia, and Malawi are now expected to take part.
