Zimbo bags Two Oceans title

Cape Town – Zimbabwe’s Thabita Tsatsa is now the official winner of the 2013 Old Mutual Two Oceans Ultra Marathon after Russian ultra-marathoner Natalia Volgina was stripped of  the title and received a two-year competition ban, subsequent to a final guilty verdict for using the banned anabolic steroid Metenolone.

Volgina was among 24 Old Mutual Two Oceans Ultra Marathon finishers to be tested by the SA Institute for Drug-Free Sport, with hers yielding the only positive result. Following an investigation, during which Volgina had the option to have her B-sample tested, she was officially found guilty by the All Russian Athletics Federation, in conjunction with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

Lester Cameron, chairperson of the Two Oceans Marathon NPC, confirmed that Volgina will lose both her title and the R250 000 prize money.

“We are disappointed that there are still athletes who believe that they can get away with doping, and we take these offences very seriously. As race organisers, we have a responsibility to protect the integrity of our event, and the sport as a whole.”

Volgina’s disqualification means that all runners behind her move up one position making Tsatsa who was second the winner.
“The organising team received the official outcome of Ms Volgina’s disciplinary procedure on December 3, 2013, and we are currently making the necessary arrangements to pay the top 10 ladies the balance of their revised prize money,” Cameron added.

Meanwhile, the SA Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS) announced on Wednesday that the Cape Town Marathon winner Lindhikaya Mthangayi tested positive for a prohibited Anabolic Steroid, Methandienone, and will face a doping charge at an independent tribunal.
Mthangayi, who runs for the Lion of Africa  Itheko Sport Athletic club, tested positive in an in-competition test conducted by the SA Institute for Drug-Free Sport at the Cape Town Marathon on September 22 2013.

This is Mthangayi’s second offence as the athlete tested positive in 2009 for the stimulant, methylhexaneamine during the Nedbank Marathon series and received a six-month ban.-Sport24.