Martinique Potgieter, the Pietersburg Road Runners Club athlete who finished ninth in the women’s category of the Comrades Marathon this year, has tested positive for banned substances, according to the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (Saids).
Saids chief executive, Khalid Galant, said in a statement on their website, which was later confirmed telephonically, that Potgieter had tested positive for a diuretic known as furosemide, a medicine that aids the elimination of sodium (salt) and water from the body, as well as a stimulant known as phentermine.
Stimulants increase alertness, attention, and energy.
Galant said Potgieter would be given the opportunity to defend herself against these doping charges in front of an independent anti-doping tribunal. No date had been set for the hearing by the time of going to print.
This year’s down race over 89.28km was Potgieter’s second Comrades. Last year, she finished in 162nd place in a time of 9:33:37.
Her time this year, just missing out on an under seven hours performance, was an improvement of more than two and a half hours with a time of 7:00:46.
Before the Comrades, in March, Potgieter won the PricewaterhouseCoopers Marathon and two months after the ultra-marathon, she won the Exxaro Mogol Marathon.
Potgieter was unavailable for comment on the matter. Colinda Potgieter, spokesperson for the Pietersburg Road Runners Club, and Martinique’s mother, confirmed that they were aware of the test results, but had no date as yet as to when she would have the opportunity to defend herself.
Her mother said Martinique was under medical treatment during the time of the Comrades and test results might have been caused by medication prescribed by Martinique’s doctor. She said the family was still awaiting do-cuments that would prove that her daughter was under medical treatment at the time.
