KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube and her entire executive council on Sunday paid tribute to the female winner of Comrades Marathon 22 – Alexandra Morozova from Russia.
“It should be remembered that in 2013, KZN hosted the most successful 5th BRICS Summit,” said Premier’s Spokesperson Ndabezinhle Sibiya.
Premier Dube-Ncube indicated recently that since hosting that event, the province will continue to position KZN as a destination for conferences, sports, music, and other international events.
Sibiya said Premier Dube-Ncube was encouraging exchange programmes for the benefit of the people of KZN, countries in the BRICS bloc, and other countries.
“We are exploring exchange programmes in sports, culture, business – including exchange programmes involving academic institutions,” said Premier Dube-Ncube.
“We do not want to leave our co-operatives and SMMEs from the townships and deep rural areas.
“Critically, we want young people and women to benefit from such international relations.
“We want to ensure that they are part of building a prosperous province for future generations.”
Morozova won in a time of 6 hrs 12 min 42 seconds.
Hours before the marathon could start, Morozova won a reprieve from the Pietermaritzburg High Court allowing her to start the race with the elite cluster, and not from the back, as had been proposed by the Comrades Marathon Association.
She might have to return to court to compel organisers to give her the prize money.
South Africa’s 34-year-old Tete Morena Dijana won the 2022 Comrades Marathon men’s race.
