Gert Thys
Gert Thys (born 12 November 1971) is a male
long-distance runner from South Africa, who represented his native country in the marathon at the 1996 and 2004 Summer Olympics. Thys is a former African record holder in the marathon, and is the current holder of the South African record with his best of 2:06:33 from the 1999 Tokyo International Marathon, which was also the course record for that race.[1]
Biography
Thys was born in
cross country runner earlier on in his career and was the 1994 winner of the Chiba International Cross Country.[4]
He also had success in East Asia at the
norandrosterone.[5] Thys contested the outcome and a protracted hearing following his competitive ban by Athletics South Africa eventually resulted in his exoneration. Laboratory errors in processing his sample meant the Court of Arbitration for Sport CAS found in his favour.[6][7] In May 2010 the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland overruled this decision, declaring that the CAS has no jurisdiction over this case.[8] Thys successfully argued to the court that the fact that the same technician had analysed both his positive samples (a breach of the anti-doping rules) had meant that the validity of the tests could not stand. His doping ban was overturned on this basis in 2012 and he was re-instated as the winner of the 2006 Seoul Marathon.[9]
His extensive running career, which began at the age of thirteen, has taken in around forty competitive marathons. He came close to victory at the 2010 Beijing Marathon, but he slowed in the final stages and was runner-up to Siraj Gena.[10]
Achievements
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing  South Africa
| |||||
| 1993 | Lake Biwa Marathon | Ōtsu Japan
|
3rd | Marathon | 2:11:40 |
| Fukuoka Marathon | Fukuoka, Japan
|
2nd | Marathon | 2:09:31 | |
| 1995 | New York City Marathon | New York City, United States | 11th | Marathon | 2:13:28 |
| 1996 | Olympic Games | Atlanta, United States
|
33rd | Marathon | 2:18:55 |
| Beppu-Ōita Marathon | Ōita, Japan
|
1st | Marathon | 2:08:30 | |
| Reims à Toutes Jambes | Reims, France
|
3rd | Marathon | 2:11:13 | |
| 1997 | Beppu-Ōita Marathon | Ōita, Japan
|
2nd | Marathon | 2:13:14 |
| Gold Coast Marathon | Brisbane, Australia | 2nd | Marathon | 2:11:55 | |
| 1998 | Boston Marathon | Boston, United States | 3rd | Marathon | 2:07:52 |
| Chicago Marathon | Chicago, United States | 3rd | Marathon | 2:07:45 | |
| 1999 | Tokyo Marathon | Tokyo, Japan
|
1st | Marathon | 2:06:33 |
| World Championships | Seville, Spain | 15th | Marathon | 2:17:13
| |
| 2000 | London Marathon | London, United Kingdom | 12th | Marathon | 2:11:32 |
| Fukuoka Marathon | Fukuoka, Japan
|
7th | Marathon | 2:14:28 | |
| 2001 | London Marathon | London, United Kingdom | 10th | Marathon | 2:12:11 |
| World Championships | Edmonton, Canada
|
— | Marathon | DNF
| |
| 2002 | Seoul International Marathon | Seoul, South Korea | 4th | Marathon | 2:12:46 |
| New York City Marathon | New York City, United States | 7th | Marathon | 2:11:48 | |
| 2003 | Tokyo International Marathon | Tokyo, Japan
|
7th | Marathon | 2:12:51 |
| Seoul International Marathon | Seoul, South Korea | 1st | Marathon | 2:08:42 | |
| World Championships | Paris, France | 30th | Marathon | 2:15:00
| |
| 2004 | Seoul International Marathon | Seoul, South Korea | 1st | Marathon | 2:07:06 |
| Olympic Games | Athens, Greece | 16th | Marathon | 2:16:08 | |
| Fukuoka Marathon | Fukuoka, Japan
|
4th | Marathon | 2:14:27 | |
| 2005 | Seoul International Marathon | Seoul, South Korea
|
2nd | Marathon | 2:11:19 |
| World Championships | Helsinki, Finland | — | Marathon | DNF
| |
| 2006 | Beppu-Ōita Marathon | Ōita, Japan
|
1st | Marathon | 2:09:45 |
| Seoul International Marathon | Seoul, South Korea
|
1st | Marathon | 2:10:40 | |
References
- ^ Tokyo International Marathon. Association of Road Racing Statisticians (5 March 2010). Retrieved on 2010-10-23.
- IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-10-24.
- ^ Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon. ARRS (24 December 2009). Retrieved on 2010-02-08.
- ^ Chiba International Crosscountry. Association of Road Racing Statisticians (15 February 2009). Retrieved on 2010-10-23.
- ^ Seoul International Marathon. Association of Road Racing Statisticians (23 March 2010). Retrieved on 2010-10-23.
- ^ Gert Thys Banned by ASA[permanent dead link]. Runners World. Retrieved on 2010-10-24.
- ^ Athletes' Voice Archived 7 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Athletes Lawyer (May 2010). Retrieved on 2010-10-24.
- ^ 4A_456/2009 (03.05.2010) Archived 10 July 2012 at archive.today
- ^ Haumann, Riel (13 January 2012). Court Clears South African Marathoner Gert Thys Archived 1 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Competitor. Retrieved on 2012-01-13.
- IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-10-23.
External links
- Gert Thys at World Athletics
- Marathon Info profile
- Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Gert Thys". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012.
