Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon winner....
One thing worth pointing out about the Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon is that, probably due to its generous sponsorship and the toughness of the hills, it attracts some top athletes. The winner, Ethiopian Yared Hailesallassie Hagos, probably entered because there was a course record to be beaten. The prize, £250 and a load of sports clothing and footwear, for winning would probably just have been worth his trip from the North East but add to that the checque he picked up for £1,000 for smashing the course record and you can see why he put in the extra effort. Not a bad days work really if you've got the talent which this young man clearly has in abundance. According to his profile he comes from a very poor background in Addis Ababa and is an inspiration to runners from East Africa to give them a route out of poverty. A few years ago he could probably not have even afforded a pair of running shoes, let alone some 2XU compression socks and Mammoth Sport Mattress, so good luck to him!...
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3 comments:
I thought all this running was for fun. But clearly its not. So where does that leave the Olympics? Why should we as a country give billions to train athletes who will personally gain in cash terms. Maybe any prize money should be returned to the state.
A bit like student loans perhaps!
Yes like student loans. And what about the LTA paying for Andy Murry's tennis coach. The LTA gets its funds from Wimbledon and UK Sports grants so I guess it was you and I that paid to coach Andy Murry.
The bill runs into millions and I doubt if he will give a large donation to the LTA.
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