Marathon race feat brings 93m/- in forex to Tanzania

MARATHON earned Tanzania 93m/- in foreign exchange after its athlete, Alphonce Felix Simbu, won the Mumbai Marathon in India early yesterday.

Simbu, who won the gruelling 42km race in 2 hours, 09 minutes and 50 seconds, was the first sportsman to bring home the much-needed foreign exchange this year.

Simbu was awarded 42,000 US dollars as cash prize for winning the event against tough opponents from Kenya and Ethiopia.

 The foreign income to the country through athletics previously was very common to the country during the glorious days of the country’s legendary runners such as Filbert Bayi, Juma Ikangaa, Suleiman Nyambui, John Yuda and Zebedayo Bayo.

Tanzania’s neighbour, Kenya leads the East African region in reaping huge foreign income through athletics, especially long distance races and marathons. Most often, Kenya, whose athletes win almost every event staged world wide on Sundays, earn an average of 150,000 USD weekly through its athletes who win in 1-2-3 finishing most often.

The Secretary General of Tanzania Olympic Committee (TOC), Mr Filbert Bayi, lauded the athlete’s success, calling it a motivational feat to the whole nation.

Mr Bayi said the cash reward should be taken positively in that sports like athletics can pay a player better than even soccer at the regional level.

The former local athletics icon; and Africa and World 1,500-metre race champion, Bayi said Simbu spent just two hours to pocket 42,000 USD (93m/) which is a huge amount to a sportsman. 

He Noted that even Mr Iddi Mhunzi, one of the coaches, called for a revival of athletics in Tanzania not as a leisure but a source of employment to the energetic youth countrywide.

He said for a sprinter it takes less than 10 seconds to earn over 50m/-, hence advising Tanzanian youth to start with short distance races to become medal and cash winning sportsmen and women. Simbu won the men’s elite full marathon event while Kenya’s Bornes Kitur bagged the women’s title at the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon yesterday.

Simbu clocked two hours, nine minutes and 32 seconds to clinch the gold medal while Kenya’s Joshua Kirkorir took the second spot with a time of 2:09:50 in the competition, which has been described as very tough.

 Simbu, who had competed in the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, said he trained for the race in the hills in Tanzania, which made him “perfect” for the race.

He said his pace varied throughout the race, also ruing the fact that the course had corners and at few places -- hills. The athlete, taking part in a full marathon after the Rio Olympics, said that all his past experiences helped him win yesterday.

Among the Indians, Olympian Kheta Ram, who was eyeing to better his personal best of 2:15:26 he clocked at Rio last year, came first in 2:19:51.