Dutch businessman tops up Utrecht marathon prize money

A Dutch businessman who is based in Kenya is to give €9,900 to the non-Dutch winner of this year’s Utrecht marathon because he is so ashamed of the organisers’ efforts to discourage foreign runners, the Parool reports on Saturday.


Gert-Jan van Wijk has decided to spend his company’s marketing budget on the prize to make sure a foreign winner gets as much as a Dutch one, the paper says.
The organisers of the 42 km race on April 25 have decided only to pay large cash prizes to people who have been asked to take part – and only Dutch nationals have been invited, the Volkskrant reported earlier.
A foreign winner of the event will get €100.
Kenyans have won the event for the past four years and the organisers say they want to encourage domestic talent.

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