African runners in it for the long run

By TANG YING and LUCIE MORANGI | China Daily | Updated: 2018-09-17 07:43
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Kenya's Valary Aiyabe beams with pride after becoming the first female runner to finish the Beijing Marathon 2018 on Sunday. ZHANG CHENLIN/XINHUA

Another IAAF Gold Label race, the Shanghai International Marathon, saw a South African, Stephen Mokoka, and an Ethiopian, Roza Dereje, retain the men's and women's titles, each earning $45,000. The four top places in both races were dominated by Kenyans and Ethiopians, who went home with prizes of at least $6,000-big money in the two countries where average per capita GDP is $1,500 and $800, respectively, according to 2016 data.

Wang Qihang, a manager working at Tao Camp in Kenya, which is owned by Tao Shaoming, the former coach of the Chinese women's distance-running team, said 20 athletes from East Africa took part in the Beijing Marathon last year, each earning $20,000 for finishing the course.

"At least 10 African athletes took part in medium-level events held in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Chongqing. In lower-profile races, including those held in Guiyang and Liupanshui, both in Guizhou province, the prize for the winner was 10,000 yuan ($1,500), Wang said.

He added that marathons had been held in China for more than four decades-including the Beijing and Great Wall races-but African participation had only been noticeable since 2012. This was the year when the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation was launched in Beijing, four years after the capital hosted the Summer Olympics.

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