Cape Town - SA Olympian Christine Kalmer, who competed in the women’s marathon event at the 2016 Summer Olympics, has beaten a R718 000 claim by a spectator who sued her for injuries sustained after a collision with the runner during the first race of the 2014 Spar Women’s Challenge 10km road races.
The spectator, Yasmin Salie, sued Kalmer, as well as with Western Province Athletics (WPA), claiming that Kalmer had pushed her out of the way, causing her to fall and sustain injuries to her right thigh and knee.
Salie also claimed that WPA race marshals had failed to perform their duties adequately to protect the public, and it had been up to them to warn members of the public of the inherent dangers of a collision.
During the case, a witness, Leoni Olckers, testified that she had asked Salie to take a photograph of her and her group.
Olckers said that after the photograph she and Salie walked towards each other, meeting in the middle of the pavement as Salie returned the camera, and meanwhile Kalmer came running at speed, shouting at them to get out of the way.
Kalmer said that Salie stepped into her path while she was running at about 20km per hour, and she had shouted a warning before raising both arms to brace for the impact.
After they collided, Salie fell to the ground and Kalmer was forced to come to a standstill before continuing the race.
The incident at the Mouille Point promenade was said to have cost Kalmer the race.
Kalmer blamed the incident on Salie, whom she said had failed to keep a proper lookout for athletes in the race when she stepped into the road to take the photograph.
In her judgment, Judge Judith Cloete said: “Kalmer, an elite athlete, was a serious contender for points and prizes in the 2014 Grand Prix Series of Spar 10km events, of which the Cape Town event was the first for that year.
“Salie must have been aware that a race was under way; that the athletes involved were running at speed; that someone who was presumably a marshal bearing a red flag, stood just less than 12 metres away from her; and she must reasonably have anticipated that other runners would soon be approaching at similar speed,” said Judge Cloete.
Dismissing the claim with costs, Judge Cloete ruled: “I am therefore compelled to the conclusion that neither Kalmer nor the WPA would have foreseen the reasonable possibility that a failure to sound an earlier warning to Salie would cause her injury.
“This being so, it was not incumbent on either Kalmer or the WPA to take steps other than those which they did to guard against such an occurrence in the particular circumstances of the matter.”
Cape Argus