Karin-Mari scores a sponsor (silver linings over silver medals)

I have some great news to share. There is indeed a silver lining to the BrahGate saga: This morning Karin-Mari Dötze, the 10^th placed lady at this year’s Two Oceans half marathon, officially signed with Nedbank and became a sponsored athlete.

Dötze was negatively impacted when two men illegally banditted in women’s race numbers and displaced her and Alexa Townsend from the online results. Although she was never removed from the official Top 10, she saw the online results and assumed that two women from lower batches had run faster than her and displaced her in the Top 10.

Although Jeppe AC are sad to see Karin-Mari switch the black and white dynamite of Jeppe for the Green of Nedbank, Kim Pain from Jeppe was philosophical when she broke the good news to me this morning, “I just wanted to let you know that Karin-Mari has received sponsorship from Nick Bester and the Nedbank team. We at Jeppe are sad to lose her but we know that it is what is best for her. We are so proud of her and wish her well with her sponsorship at Nedbank to which we will follow her closely.”

Of course I immediately got on the phone to Nick Bester, both to thank him and ask about his latest signing. Explaining his move Bester said, “I think at this stage of my career, I’m continuing for one reason and that is to help athletes achieve and to reach their goals. I can see when an athlete has got potential, especially in their attitude, the build of their body, the way they speak.”

In terms of what a signing to the Nedbank team brings, Bester explained, “We’ve got great people supporting us like Nedbank, Dischem, Biogen, Thirsti Water, Bavaria and of course Nike technical apparel and footwear and Nike Vision.”

He also emphasised, “Women’s running in South Africa needs a boost. There are far too few women that perform well – so we have to invest in women.”

Bester was actively involved at this year’s Two Oceans and heralded the return to form of the planet’s second largest ultra marathon and South Africa’s largest half marathon. He explained, “Nedbank put a huge effort this year into helping Two Oceans get back on their feet. A massive Nedbank team component of 54 athletes flew down for this year’s event.” Bester continued, “We put a massive effort in from the Netbank running clubs to help Stillwater Sports and the new board build Two Oceans back to the heydays when I was running back in the 80s and 90s.”

On the importance of the Two Oceans weekend Bester said, “Two Oceans is one of the main races that people watch on TV. And that creates and draws sponsors which helps the athletes to make a living out of the race.”

What was his first impression after meeting Karin-Mari, “I like the way Karin-Mari is speaking, she’s motivated, she’s positive and she is definitely a benefit to the team. Nedbank Running Club would love to see how we can help Karin-Mari become one of the top athletes in South Africa.”

I would have loved to publish this article earlier but I had to wait until the end of the school day to get a comment from primary school teacher Karin-Mari herself, “I am a little bit speechless. This all happened really quickly. I am so grateful for this opportunity.”

She is looking forward to the new opportunity but regrets leaving Jeppe AC, “I spoke to Kim [Pain] about this, because I was really happy at Jeppe, and they were so good and supportive for me, but I want to take my running to a next level. This opportunity is an answered prayer. I really prayed for an opportunity and now I have it right in front of me. I am really excited for this new journey. I am going to take it with both hands and give it my all. I am really grateful that Nick Bester from Nedbank reached out. This is such a big blessing for me.”

So there you have it. While Luke Jacobs and Nic Bradfield flaunted their silver medals on social media, this story concludes with a silver lining for our heroine – Karin-Mari Dötze: A single mother who finished the Two Oceans as the only club runner to crack the Top 10 at the half marathon and scored a professional contract with her victory lap.