Posted: October 5, 2005

Athletics: South African Tests Positive

From David Monti

© 2005 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com

By Riel Hauman

A major shock hit South African athletics today when Athletics South Africa announced that Azwindini (Gladys) Lukhwareni, top South African finisher in this year’s Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon, tested positive for Decadurabulon, an illegal performance enhancing drug.

Lukhwareni (25), who runs for the top-level professional club Harmony AC, recently raised a stir when she won the Cape Town leg of the Spar Series for women in 32:05 – 45 seconds faster than her previous personal best.

“We were tremendously disappointed in learning that one of our top South African athletes, 23-year-old [sic] Gladys Lukhwareni got involved in the misuse of performance enhancings drugs,” said Nick Bester, Harmony AC Manager and former Comrades winner, in a statement. “We will never ever accept the use of illegal substances and will provide all our support and cooperation to Athletics South Africa (ASA) and Drugs Free Sport in eliminating it.”

Lukhwareni admitted taking the drug after being notified of the ASA’s test results. “Gladys naively sought help from unknowingly corrupt sources for knee problems in early June and got trapped into using this drug,” said Bester.

Lukhwareni joined Harmony’s Development Programme just over four years ago and has improved tremendously since then. She “was well on her way to become one of South Africa’s best woman’s running athletes and it’s sorrowful that these people abused her ignorance and in the process not only destroyed her future in the sport, but also took away her livelihood,’” added Bester.

In the Two Oceans she finished fourth in 3:43:28 as the first South African, a positon she had also claimed in 2004 (when she was third in 3:38:56 – the second fastest performance ever by a South African woman). In the course of this year she claimed victories in the Nigel, Dis-Chem and Harmony Adventure half marathons, as well as in all three Spar races (Cape Town, Durban and Pretoria), the George Claassen 10 km and Edgars 10 km.

Her 32:21 in the Cape Town Spar race is the fastest by a South African this year and places her fourth on the all-time list behind Elana Meyer, Colleen de Reuck and Zola Pieterse. Her 77:54 half marathon in the Dis-Chem Half Marathon in January was the SA list leader until Tanith Maxwell surpassed it in July with 75:52.