South African running star Gerda Steyn has revealed that she is still waiting for her R90 000 prize money almost a year after finishing third at the 2025 Soweto Marathon, as the race’s wider R1.2 million payment crisis continues to affect elite athletes.
Steyn, one of the country’s most successful distance runners, finished on the podium at the 30th African Bank Soweto Marathon on 29 November 2025.
Despite her performance, the five-time Comrades Marathon and seven-time Two Oceans Marathon champion says she has received no payment and has been left without meaningful communication from the organisers.
“It’s almost exactly a year later, and there has been absolutely no communication about payments, and no payments have been made. I don’t even know if this is still something we are talking about,” Steyn said.
Gerda Steyn disappointed by lack of communication
Gerda Steyn said she had chosen to support the Soweto Marathon despite knowing the event was experiencing difficulties.
After the Cape Town Marathon was cancelled because of bad weather on 19 October 2025, she still wanted to take part in a marathon on home soil.
“I wanted to support them. I knew the race was not in a good position, but I still wanted to support them,” she said.
However, the prolonged delay has left her disappointed.
“When I look back 12 months later and see how we have almost been forgotten, it is incredibly disappointing,” Steyn said.
She also expressed concern about the impact on South Africa’s running community, which has traditionally rallied around major road-running events.
“We have such a community. When I look at the running community, we stand together. We support everything and everyone. We are proudly South African,” she said.
“This is not good for the community.”
Soweto Marathon prize money crisis affects winners
Gerda Steyn is not the only prominent athlete reportedly still waiting for payment.
Men’s race winner Joseph Seutloali, her Hollywood Athletics Club team-mate, is reportedly still owed R250 000. The outstanding payments form part of a wider prize-money shortfall estimated at approximately R1.2 million.
The dispute has raised questions about the management and financial accountability of the event, known as the People’s Race.
Title sponsor African Bank has confirmed that it fulfilled its contractual obligations and transferred the sponsorship fees and prize money to the Soweto Marathon NPO.
The organisers initially attributed the delays to outstanding doping test results. However, the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport reportedly confirmed that the results had been finalised and delivered by mid-January 2026.
Despite that development, athletes have continued to wait for their money.
Government steps in amid mounting pressure
The crisis prompted further intervention in 2026.
In July, Central Gauteng Athletics announced that limited funds from the Gauteng Sports Confederation’s 2024 allocation would be used to make partial payments to affected athletes.
Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie subsequently announced government intervention, including plans for the outstanding prize money owed to the 2025 winners to be paid directly through government channels.
The department also undertook to oversee the organisation of the 2026 race.
The minister has further indicated that steps would be taken to pursue allegations of fraud and theft against the NPO organisers through the South African Police Service and the National Prosecuting Authority. Any criminal allegations would need to be investigated and established through the appropriate legal processes.
The proposed intervention has also raised governance questions, with provincial athletics bodies expressing concerns about a direct political takeover and the need to address the event’s structural problems.
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