5km series in honour of Zola Budd 'withdrawn until further notice' - Moloi

Athletics South Africa president James Moloi has clarified the federation's position on a series of races which could be staged in honour of Zola Budd. On Wednesday #TheTopRunner reported that ASA was planning to rollout a series of 5km races in 2023, which would be named after the former 5000m world record holder. But following concerns from some quarters of the athletics community Moloi has shed further light on the story saying that nothing about the series has been finalized yet.

"At this stage it's just a proposal that we received. Nothing has been finalized yet. Remember that ASA doesn't organise these kinds of events. We only organise national championships. So those kinds of 5km races would have to approved by the provincial bodies in the regions where the races are being proposed," he explained.

Moloi's clarification answers the question of endorsement which had also arisen as a result of the report which was published in #TheTopRunner earlier this week. Some had asked whether the proposed series was ASA's brainchild or simply endorsed by the sport's mother body after it was proposed by an independent race organiser.

"As I said, we got a proposal and we get a lot of proposals from people who want to organise events. But this will have to go to the provinces and be approved by them. But for now we will pause before moving forward. The series is withdrawn until further notice," said Moloi.