'The difference in those times, was 1 percent. when you look at the history of the event over the years, females have performed outstandingly on that trail. Times set by women and men on this particular track were not wildly different, Moore said, with 8 hours 21 minutes and 45 seconds the men's fastest time so far, and 8 hours 24 minutes and 03 seconds the women's fastest time.Īnd last year women claimed 1st, 3rd and 6th place in the event. Moore said a performance advantage for men had only be shown on flat athletics tracks, and different trails and events offered different conditions, with the athletes and the genders performing differently on each. We put up the prize to see who could be the first person.'

'Either party can do it, it's clearly not sexist. South Island Ultra race grand prize sparks sexism debate Organisers CJM's Events, run by John and Carol Moore then decided to offer $10,000 each to the first male and the first female to break the eight-hour mark.īut John Moore told Checkpoint that despite changing the prize offer he did not believe the initial offer had been sexist. Organisers of the South Island Ultra Marathon offered the cash to the first person to break eight hours in the 100-kilometre race along a West Coast wilderness track that starts in Greymouth and ends in Hokitika.īut the offer sparked a backlash and international debate about sexism, with critics claiming men had been shown to have a physiological performance advantage, and so would be more likely to make the eight-hour mark. Photo: 123rfĪ $10,000 prize offered for a record finish in an ultra marathon was not sexist, an organiser says, despite online criticism that led to the prize being altered.

Debate has been sparked over gender equity in sport after a $10,000 prize was offered for a record time in an ultra marathon.

Download ultra runner