Blantyre Race winner disqualified

The fourth edition of Blantyre 42.195-kilometre Race saw the men’s champion Mphatso Nadolo disqualified for allegedly cheating on his way to defending the title.

The two-time champion’s joy for what could have been his third title in four editions was cut short just before he was officially crowned when the red flag was raised.

Nadolo clocked 2:24:48 hours (hrs) while in the previous edition, he he did 2:22.58hrs.

In an interview yesterday, the race’s technical committee member Emmanuel Mulonya, who is Athletics Association of Malawi vice-president, said there was evidence that he cheated.

“It’s a painful decision that we had to take because if we accept, it means we are setting a bad precedent. When we got a report from the technical committee, we sent a team to investigate and it showed where he ignored tour guides at two points.

“He is a very experienced athlete and he should know better. Taking into consideration his pace, the two points where he ignored the tour guide would not have affected his result. However, rules have to be respected.”

Malawi National Council of Sports spokesperson Edgar Ntulumbwa declined to comment, saying as organisers and sponsors of the race, they have demanded a report.

The controversy also affected legendary long distance runner Henry Moyo who returned to participate for the first time since the race was revived four years ago.

He finished the race in the top 10 and was rewarded a special prize of K100 000 in recognition of his contribution to the sport.

 Following the disqualification of Nadolo, who broke down after the decision and needed attention second-placed Austin Sukali was declared the champion in 2:32.16 hours while MacDonald Mangani finished second by clocking 2:35.42 hour and Edson Kamanga settled for bronze medal in 2:38.42 hours.

In the women’s category, Nalicy Chirwa won the third consecutive title after finishing in 3:02.57, DorisFisha clocked 3:12.16 to win silver while Tereza Master settled for bronze medal.

Minister of Youth and Sports, who was the guest of honour, Minister of National Unity Timothy Mtambo and  Malawi National Council of Sports board chairperson Sunduzwayo Madise were among those who attended the event.