Durban - There will be something unusual for Comrades fans to look out for next Sunday.
Among the 20 000 competitors in the down run, will be two wheelchair athletes, for the first time in its 91-year history.
Quadriplegics Chaeli Mycroft and Anita Engelbrecht will be aiming to highlight their cause for disabled people. They will be pushed along in specially designed wheelchairs by their running partners - James Chevallier and Brett Glen, and Hilton Murray - and hope to encourage more disabled athletes to compete in the world-famous race.
Mycroft and Engelbrecht who have cerebral palsy and spastic diplegia respectively, challenged the Comrades Marathon Association rule that stated “no wheelchairs or mechanical aids”. In April, they were notified that they could enter.
“We wanted to do something epic. With the Comrades being known as the ultimate human race I’m excited to be a part of it,” said Mycroft, 21, who is studying for honours in social policy and management at the University of Cape Town. In 2011, she was awarded the International Children’s Peace Prize and in 2012, became the first recipient of the Nobel Peace Laureate’s Medal for Social Activism, and last year reached the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in a wheelchair. Her foundation, The Chaeli Campaign, raises awareness about disability and runs several projects.
Engelbrecht, 22, is a final-year BCom management accounting student at Stellenbosch University.
They describe themselves as “ability activists”.
CMA chairman Macdonald Chitja said it welcomed the directive from Athletics SA that two wheelchair-assisted participants be permitted to participate. He said it was important to note that the two complied with the standard qualifying times and entry requirements for the race, and that no special provision had been made for them.
However, several safety and security measures have had to be reassessed to ensure there were no problems on the day.
“Our primary concern is the safety of all participants. As a matter of urgency we will be consulting various role-players to reassess our medical, technical, safety and security and logistical arrangements to determine possible impacts, and adjustments we may need to implement to ensure participants are not compromised.”
Independent on Saturday