African gold diggers in China Marathon
It’s always a dark shadow that crosses the finish line first.
On November 18th, in Suzhou International Half Marathon, Kenyan Josphat was the first to reach the finish line.
On October 29th, amoni, an Ethiopian athlete, won the first prize in the Shaolin Temple Marathon in Songshan.
The list can be very long, and the champions are all black faces. This is because China marathon enthusiasts focus on the races they participate in. For African runners, bonuses are their rice bowls and the only source of income.
This bonus is a great fortune in their hometown. The most common marathon in China, with a bonus of 10,000 yuan, is equivalent to three to four times the monthly salary of the working class in Kenya, which can tie the income of a few high-paying occupations such as doctors and lawyers.
They are a group of runners from Kenya and Ethiopia. Like a flock of migratory birds, they flew to China from the African continent before the starting gun of the marathon.
Running is an innate talent. They use this talent to improve their lives and even change their destiny.
African "black" intermediary of China Marathon, the only black broker — — Ou Chen is currently serving his 300 African brothers, all of whom are high-level long-distance runners. Ou Chen hopes that through its own platform, more athletes will go out of Africa and come to China to participate in the competition.
Fly 10 thousand kilometers to "gold rush"
When waiting for the starting gun to sound, Josphat in a blue T-shirt was not at the front of the team, but behind the player in the fluorescent green vest. After 1 hour and 7 minutes, the blue coat appeared at the finish line first.
This is Josphat’s first visit to China. He is 36 years old this year.
He is a typical marathon global gold digger. Before coming to China, he had traveled all over Europe. He bowed his head and broke his hands and pointed out: Germany, Czech Republic, Spain, Poland … …
Josphat remembers that his first game was in Kenya, and he won the fourth place with a prize of about 10,000 yuan. He is very happy. In Kenya, where experts gather, this is a commendable good ranking.
Since 2002, Josphat has been an out-and-out veteran. He has always maintained a high level, and almost all the marathons he participated in have won.
Because of his outstanding strength, he was invited by the organizers to be the front runner in many marathon events in Europe. A lead will bring him 3000 euros in income.
Josphat, who has been playing in Europe for many years, found Ou Chen through a European agent last year and expressed his willingness to come to China to participate in the competition.
The east coast of the African continent is about 10,000 kilometers away from Shanghai, China, and it takes a long flight of 15 hours. Josphat feels very comfortable when he comes to China for the first time.
"There are many competitions in China, and there are too few competitions in Europe." Josphat talked about the reason why he came to China to compete. "If you want, you can run almost once a week.".
The China Marathon shows an explosive growth trend. It is estimated that there will be more than 500 marathons in 2017, and in 2015, this number will only stay at 134.
On November 18th, he won the Suzhou International Half Marathon and won a prize of 10,000 yuan. Six days ago, in the Taizhou International Marathon on November 12th, Josphat finished second in the first race in China, and the prize money was also 10,000 yuan.
Comparatively speaking, Dairus’s marathon qualification is still relatively shallow, only five years, but its strength is equally good.
In Hongze Lake International Marathon and Bayannaoer International Marathon, Dairus won the second place in the whole group, with prizes of 15,000 yuan and 12,000 yuan respectively.
Dairus is very tall, with two long legs and a thick beard covering his cheeks. Wearing a black hat and red slacks, he looks much more fashionable than other athletes.
"Although many people in China can’t speak English, they really want to communicate with me. I am very happy." Dairus said that he likes China very much, and he thinks China people are kind and friendly.
Wear 4-dollar sandals and win 3 championships.
The day before returning to China, Dairus was lying in bed. After the game, he was so tired that he almost fell asleep, and his running shoes were messy on the bedside.
Dairus is now wearing professional running shoes of Nike brand. Five years ago, this was something he dared not expect. At that time, I just ran and had no income. Shoes were a luxury, "too expensive".
In Kenya, many athletes can’t afford to buy equipment, so they can only help each other. Dairus is also funded by friends. If a friend has several pairs of shoes, he will give you a pair.
Financial distress once shattered his dream. Before running, he was a college student, majoring in computer science, which was his interest, but he dropped out of school without graduation.
Giving up his studies and picking up his talents, Dairus started running training. Like other marathon runners, Dairus believes that running is their innate talent.
Dairus comes from Eldoret in the northwest of Kenya, a plateau city with an altitude of 2,400 meters. It is the most famous hometown of long-distance running in Kenya and even the world, where more than 40 world-class long-distance running champions have been born.
Being good at running and making a living by running, the talent under their feet carries their glory and dreams and becomes the only opportunity for many people to change poverty.
Amoni was so angry that he was honored as "Brother Sandals" by netizens in China.
This athlete from Ethiopia won the first prize in the Jingyuan Half Marathon on October 22nd, the Songshan Shaolin Temple Marathon on October 29th and the Yuyang Dongsha New District Marathon on November 5th.
To people’s consternation, he finished the race wearing a pair of blue sandals. The soles of these foam sandals have turned white, and the metal buckles are covered with yellow rust and have been damaged. In the competition, amoni’s big feet were tightly wrapped in sandals, and there was no need to fasten them firmly.
The first time he set foot on the track in China, amoni took part in competitions in five cities in China in one month, winning three championships, a third place and a fifth place, and winning a total prize of 48,000 yuan.
Back in Shanghai, amoni put the "blue combat boots" on the bedside table. This pair of sandals bought in my hometown is actually "Made in China", and the price is converted into RMB about 4 yuan money.
Disappearing brokers and bonuses
This newly opened road of gold rush is not easy for African athletes to run at first, and often hides fraud.
Jackson walked with a limp. He won the third place in the marathon that started in Fangchenggang on November 19th. In the coming week, he will also participate in two competitions.
After careful consideration, Jackson decided to come to China for gold for the second time. But apart from Ou Chen, he never trusted other brokers.
Nine months later, Jackson still can’t get over his first visit to China. He carried with him the gold medal and ranking certificate issued by Hainan Marathon, which proved that the A3315 number plate he wore during the race had been deeply imprinted.
Through a China agent named "Andy", he signed up for the Hainan (Sanya) International Marathon on February 26th.
It was a terrible experience. The agent took him from Nanjing, took the ordinary train, and spent four days and four nights on the road before arriving in Sanya. Jackson recalled the hardships he suffered when he went to Hainan, and he was very excited.
In 2 hours and 15 minutes, Jackson ranked fourth with a prize of $3,500.
However, then the agent "Andy" disappeared and Jackson’s bonus disappeared. The mobile phone number left on a white note was never answered.
"This is a lot of money", and he hopes that someone can help him find the disappeared broker and get his bonus back.
With the increase of China Marathon, more African athletes are willing to try their luck. China people with connections found business opportunities, helped bridge the gap, and started as brokers.
This is a contractual relationship. The organizer of the competition will hand over the bonus to the broker, who will hand it over to the athletes. The broker’s return is the bonus commission of the athletes. In addition, some competitions need foreign excellent athletes to "support the scene", and agents earn invitation fees from them.
But trust is sometimes fragile. In a foreign land, the agent holds the wallet of an African athlete. Due to the lack of restraint, athletes are just tools for them to make money. Some greedy brokers take all the bonuses and disappear.
In March 2016, Kenyan athlete Robert (pseudonym) called Ou Chen and said, "I am at the gate of your school now."
Ou Chen was puzzled because he didn’t know the person on the other end of the phone. "I don’t know how he found our school and how he got my phone number.".
After the meeting, Robert said that he had come to participate in the competition, but after flying to Shanghai, the former China agent changed his mind and asked him to solve the transportation and accommodation himself. Robert, who had no friends, had to turn to his African fellow villagers in Shanghai for help.
The "black" intermediary trusted by 300 brothers
"There are many excellent athletes who run very well, but some people have been training all their lives because they have no chance to participate in the competition, and no one has a crush on them."
On the campus of Shanghai University, Ou Chen is an African student. His popularity is very good, and he is the president of the African Students’ Association. Many international students warmly greet him.
Outside the campus, Ou Chen is a marathon broker, the only black broker in China at present, calling himself a "black" intermediary. He explained that it is an intermediary for black athletes. "They are not only my athletes, but also my brothers."
After three years of development, this "black" intermediary has 300 African athletes. Josphat, Dairus and Brother Sandals are all his athletes, waiting for his notice every year to come to China to participate in the competition.
Ou Chen’s hometown is also in Eldoret, and he knows the difficulties of his compatriots. "In Kenya, the competition for running is very fierce. There are only a dozen marathons a year, and few people can get bonuses, so some people will choose to go abroad to participate in the competition. "
"Because I am now in China, I hope to use this platform to help them change their lives." In Ou Chen’s view, it is the mission and goal to open a channel for talented athletes to earn wealth.
As an agent, Ou Chen’s job is to contact the China Marathon Organizing Committee, introduce African athletes to the competition, help them fill in the registration form, buy air tickets and arrange accommodation. After the athlete wins the prize, he can get a 15% bonus share.
Longyang Business Hotel near the west gate of Shanghai University is a transit point for this group of African gold diggers. Most of the year, there are black athletes living here, ranging from five or six to more than twenty.
One standard room, two athletes. The room is not big, and the luggage is scattered in the aisle. Backpacks usually contain competition clothes and running shoes, and some athletes also carry home specialties, such as Kenyan tea.
African brothers got good grades, which is the most fulfilling moment in Ou Chen. In the Fangchenggang Marathon on November 19th, the athletes from Ou Chen swept the top three, and the athletes from other events also got a good ranking.
On the bedside cupboard or the table in front of it, the golden trophies of different shapes have not been put away, which is particularly conspicuous in the messy room.
Bonuses, big houses and mental stress
Many people’s lives are completely changed when their talents are converted into bonuses.
Ou Chen remembers an athlete who didn’t even have the money to get a visa at first. After running two marathons in China, he went back to downtown Kenya to buy land and build a house.
Different from the marathon believers in China, although they all go to various places to participate in competitions, their goals are completely different. Just like an exam, believers in China are mostly looking for passing the competition, while African athletes such as Dairus are aiming for ranking and bonuses.
Running is all sources of income for Dairus. Dairus will also go to Europe to participate in competitions. In the past four competitions, he earned nearly 10,000 euros.
When running on the track, Dairus was full of thoughts about how to run better and win the championship. Champion means high prize money. Take the Shanghai Marathon, which has the highest prize money in China, for example, the prize money of the champion is as high as 45,000 US dollars.
In Kenya, the per capita monthly income is about 4,000 yuan. Engineers, doctors and lawyers are a few high-income groups, and the monthly income of the working class is less than 3,000 yuan. In an ordinary marathon in China, the prize money is about 10,000 RMB, which is equivalent to three to four times the monthly salary of Kenyan working class.
"Excellent players earn almost $100,000 a year, which is a very high income." Ou Chen compared that it costs about $100,000 to buy a 250-square-meter piece of land in downtown Kenya. Many people can afford to borrow for decades, and these athletes only need to run for one year.
"Running is to support the family and live a better life at home." Josphat, 36, understands that there is not much time left for himself to earn money by running.
By running, Josphat earns a lot more than his brothers and sisters. In the past year, Josphat earned 15,000 euros, almost 120,000 RMB.
Josphat has four sisters and three brothers. Except one brother who is an athlete, all the other brothers and sisters are engaged in agriculture, with an annual per capita income of about 70,000 RMB. "This is income without removing costs".
Robert’s good life will have to wait for a while. Since his illness, Robert has kept in touch with Ou Chen, and he hopes to return to the field again.
The accident happened in August this year. Robert went to participate in a marathon in Inner Mongolia. On the train, he suddenly went insane and stayed up all night. He always felt that someone was trying to kill him.
Under the control of illusory fear, when the train arrived at Jinan Station, Robert took advantage of China’s agent’s inattention and suddenly ran out of the car and ran along the direction of the railway track.
He threw away his passport, and the panic cry of the agent behind him seemed to be no longer audible, as if only running could make him escape his fear. The police found him at Jinan South Railway Station more than 10 kilometers away, and his feet were red and swollen.
Ou Chen took Robert to the hospital to see a psychiatrist. He told Ou Chen that the family relied on him to run a marathon to earn money, and the pressure was very great.
The biggest motivation comes from children.
On the afternoon of November 20th, Josphat’s room was surrounded by a group of people, and Chinese movies were playing on the TV on the wall. They are used to turning on the TV, but because no one understands Chinese lines, they seldom look up.
Dairus put the trophy in his bag and prepared to leave for home. Josphat packed his bags and will go to Wuyuan, Jiangxi Province. His next game is on November 26th.
Mutai came to the room, holding a beautifully packaged bottle of China white wine in his hands. This is one of the prizes he won in Yuyang International Marathon. He was the runner-up in the half-race.
The aroma wafted out from the crack of the door, and the athletes shared the taste of China liquor to celebrate their good achievements.
Life will get better and better. For the future, Dairus has already made a preliminary plan. He and his wife are saving money, and when they stop running, they will use this money to invest in some business.
The biggest motivation comes from children. When it comes to children, Dairus’s usual seriousness disappeared and he smiled. The husband and wife agreed to have three children. They attach great importance to children’s education and firmly believe that "the best investment in children’s education will definitely have the best return."
Through running primitive accumulation of capital, Mutai’s dream of wealth is slowly coming true. After returning to China, Mutai will continue to build houses. He is going to use the bonus he earned in China to build a big house of more than 300 square meters. "It’s very big, with 20 rooms." He simply calculated that the monthly rent of each room is about 1000 yuan RMB.
November 27th is the day when Mutai returned to China. Two days before he left, he walked around the street near Longyang Hotel to buy some clothes for his son. He hopes that his son will grow up to be a policeman and no longer need to run for a living. The police were Mutai’s dream.
"Sandals Brother" amoni put on his newly bought running shoes during training. His blue sandals and combat boots were honorably retired and given to friends in China as souvenirs. (Text/Reporter Zheng Lin)
