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Sarel van der Walt
Durban – From a Comrades cheat to a Comrades gold medal and a cheque of R90 000.
Eleven years after he and his brother ran a “relay” in the Comrades Marathon and were suspended from the race for five years, 31-year-old Sergio Motsoeneng showed on Sunday what he’s really capable of by finishing third in this year’s race over 89.28km from Pietermaritzburg to Durban.
He finished just under seven minutes behind Zimbabwean winner Stephen Muzhingi.
In 2001, Beeld newspaper exposed the cheating of Sergio and Fika Motsoeneng.
The two brothers from Bethlehem in the Eastern Free State each ran half of the race that year.
Arnold handed his vest to his brother inside a mobile toilet to complete the race.
The Motsoeneng's came “eighth”, but the referees became suspicious when some of the top athletes complained that they didn't see "him" pass them.
No proof could be found and the athletes’ complaints were dismissed.
The two brothers finally owned up when Beeld and Volksblad published photographs of them wearing their watches on different arms.
They used poverty as a defence for their dishonesty and were suspended from all athletics for three years and for 10 years from the Comrades, which was suspended for five years.
Their cheating made headlines all over the world.
Motsoeneng smiled sheepishly when reminded of his cheating on Sunday.
“It’s something of the past and water under the bridge. I learned my lesson, but hopefully I have now made up for it,” he said.
“My brother also ran today, but he has an injury and had to throw in the towel near the halfway mark (Drummond),” said Motsoeneng.
“Today I’m a very happy man, even though I did not win. I wanted to win.”
The brothers finished 29th and 36th respectively last year.
Durban – From a Comrades cheat to a Comrades gold medal and a cheque of R90 000.
Eleven years after he and his brother ran a “relay” in the Comrades Marathon and were suspended from the race for five years, 31-year-old Sergio Motsoeneng showed on Sunday what he’s really capable of by finishing third in this year’s race over 89.28km from Pietermaritzburg to Durban.
He finished just under seven minutes behind Zimbabwean winner Stephen Muzhingi.
In 2001, Beeld newspaper exposed the cheating of Sergio and Fika Motsoeneng.
The two brothers from Bethlehem in the Eastern Free State each ran half of the race that year.
Arnold handed his vest to his brother inside a mobile toilet to complete the race.
The Motsoeneng's came “eighth”, but the referees became suspicious when some of the top athletes complained that they didn't see "him" pass them.
No proof could be found and the athletes’ complaints were dismissed.
The two brothers finally owned up when Beeld and Volksblad published photographs of them wearing their watches on different arms.
They used poverty as a defence for their dishonesty and were suspended from all athletics for three years and for 10 years from the Comrades, which was suspended for five years.
Their cheating made headlines all over the world.
Motsoeneng smiled sheepishly when reminded of his cheating on Sunday.
“It’s something of the past and water under the bridge. I learned my lesson, but hopefully I have now made up for it,” he said.
“My brother also ran today, but he has an injury and had to throw in the towel near the halfway mark (Drummond),” said Motsoeneng.
“Today I’m a very happy man, even though I did not win. I wanted to win.”
The brothers finished 29th and 36th respectively last year.
