4.4 Good sportmanship and fairness  (Page 4/5)

She told them what a wonderful moment it was for her to win the race the third time running. Then she was congratulated by the Mayor of Cape Town, Mr Gerald Morkel, as she stood on the rostrum as the winner.

While Schoeman received her prize, Liss stood all on her own at the bottom level of the podium. The problems started after all the congratulations had been done.

The great unanswered question is in what stage of the race she passed Schoeman. Neither Schoeman, nor Ronel van Wyk – who was initially identified as runner-up – nor Adele Janse van Vuuren (initially placed third) can remember seeing Liss pass them.

Mr Jago Liss, Liss’s husband, said that he was at the winning post when she passed it first. He had completed the race earlier after having set off in the A group.

The first group of women had set off in the C group together with other male competitors.

According to Liss, he had prepared for the race together with his wife and she was exceptionally fit. He did not doubt for a minute that she had won the race.

Sapa reports that Liss had entered as an unknown after she had done her preparatory training in Germany and states that she had only returned to Stellenbosch at the end of last year.

“The local cyclists said that they don’t know me because I had not participated in any other local cycle races before,” Liss said.

“I set off in the C group and I think I passed Annette along the coast near Scarborough. My great problem is that the organisers say that the mat at Muizenberg did not register me when I crossed it.”

Schoeman said after the chaos that she was extremely disappointed, but that she trusted that the investigation would get to the root of the matter. Until then, at least, she had her medal and the trophy that had been presented to her.

“I am very, very disappointed. First the joy and now this anticlimax, “ she said.

“If she has won, I would like to congratulate her, because that would mean that she has had an incredible race. But first the organisers will have to prove to me that it is true.”

According to Schoeman’s trainer, Alex Cooper, the incident is just further proof that the organisers must treat women the same as male competitors, and give them their own group, service vehicle and judge.

In another sensational turn of events the organisers had to stop the race for the first time in 10 years after temperatures of up to 39 °C were recorded at Ou Kaapse Weg. The race was stopped at 2.45 p.m., almost five hours after the first competitors had set off.

It is estimated that about 5 000 of the more than 40 000 competitors were affected by this decision.

Die burger, 27 november 2000 (translated report)

Soccer violence is a blow to South Africa’s image

The soccer violence that erupted among women on Saturday in the finals for the Africa Nations Cup for women, “is damaging to the image of the country as being capable of hosting large tournaments,” Mr Molefi Oliphant, president of the South African Soccer Association (Safa), said yesterday.

Oliphant said that the violence, that led to the match being stopped early after the crowd had pelted players with bottles and stones, was a major set-back for South Africa in the bid to host the World Cup soccer tournament in 2010.