Marathon winners finally get their prize money – but what does this mean for govt’s bid to add sports tourism to Bali’s attractions?

From left to right: Henrietta Brouwer, Mike Akerman, Jack Ahearn, and Nisha. All international winners of the Indonesia International Marathon (IIM) last June finally received their prize money in early September. Photo: Obtained.
From left to right: Henrietta Brouwer, Mike Akerman, Jack Ahearn, and Nisha. All international winners of the Indonesia International Marathon (IIM) last June finally received their prize money in early September. Photo: Obtained.

When Mike Akerman took the podium at the inaugural Indonesia International Marathon (IIM) in June and was promised IDR100,000,000 (US$6,700), it did not cross his mind that it would take months for him to actually collect his prize money.

Yet here we are.

The Australian was the runner-up for the international men’s category at the IIM, which took place on June 26. He was part of the Shuffle and Strides team, a group of running (and walking, as the name suggests) enthusiasts in Bali focusing on raising mental health awareness in the island.

Other Shuffle and Strides team members who won the event include fellow Aussie Jack Ahearn, who was first to the finish line in the international men’s category; Dutch-Australian Henrietta Brouwer, who came third in the international women’s category; as well Hong Kong-based Indian national Nisha, who won first place.

It was not until Ahearn’s Instagram post went viral in late August that the issue attracted public scrutiny and turned into a media circus. In the Instagram post, Ahearn lamented that he had to go public about the case, claiming that the race organizers ignored calls by him and his friends and even blocked their numbers.

The blame game

Ahearn and Brouwer received their money last week, while Nisha and Akerman finally received theirs yesterday. But they had to go through numerous bureaucratic hurdles, including being blamed for not having KITAS (limited stay permit) amid confusion surrounding the race’s terms and conditions, and not having Indonesian bank accounts.

“Obviously we only got paid after the co-organizers buckled under public pressure from various angles including media, celebrity lawyers, government officials and tens of thousands of Indonesian netizens who collectively shouted ‘please stop embarrassing Indonesia,’” Akerman told Coconuts Bali yesterday.

Conceding that he would now “think twice” before participating in any event organized by the Indonesian Sports Committee (KONI) and private organizer PT Tata Media Prima (PT TMP), Akerman said that the issue has “unnecessarily put a little dent in Indonesia’s reputation” including in the government’s plan to add sports tourism to Bali’s attractions.

Ahearn, Brouwer, and Akerman were represented by Frank Hutapea, the son of superstar lawyer Hotman Paris Hutapea, in the case. Nisha was represented by another legal team that she hired before the Hutapea clan entered the scene.

Nisha, who was visiting Bali during the event, had to fly back to Hong Kong in the second week of August and decided to hire Esra Karo Karo Kaban SH & Partners to handle the case. Ahearn, Nisha said, did not want his story to go public at first.

“When [Ahearn, Brouwer, and Akerman] got a lawyer, they asked me if I wanted to join, [but] I had to respect my lawyer,” Nisha told Coconuts Bali.

Despite Nisha’s legal team being pretty much under the radar throughout the whole brouhaha, they actually filed the protest first to the race committee. Nisha, who won IDR120,000,000 (US$8,000), was at some point offered IDR40,000,000 (US$2,700), according to her legal team.

“We hope that this case won’t happen again in the future. Don’t let our country’s reputation be tainted over something so trivial, especially since the government has struggled to restore our tourism since the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Pio Ginting, one of Nisha’s lawyers.

Even after the payments were settled, race organizers still made eyebrow-raising comments about the controversy.

PT TMP and the race committee said yesterday that they finally settled all the payment for the winners, “which was KONI’s commitment.” KONI Secretary General Ade Lukman told Coconuts Bali separately that, from the start, it was PT TMP’s responsibility to provide rewards to the winners.

“As the event approached, their main sponsor withdrew so they asked KONI for help [….] including providing prize money in accordance with our regulations,” he said, adding that the whole controversy has become a lesson for future events planning.

Regardless of who did or did not do what, the whole circus may jeopardize the government’s sports tourism plans for Bali.

Unhealthy international obsession

Jakarta-based sports analyst Wina Setyawatie said that the government should ban the event organizers from holding sports events for a year, as well as enact a set of standardized requirements for sporting events, regardless of whether or not they have international cred.

Yet it should be noted that the Indonesian winners at IIM recorded faster times than the international category winners.

For example, Ahearn ran the marathon in 3 hours and 30.48 minutes, way behind Indonesian men’s category winner Agus Prayogo, who recorded 2 hours and 36.16 minutes. Muhammad Ady Saputra, who was placed third in the Indonesian category, ran the event in 2 hours and 48.43 minutes, way ahead of Akerman who recorded a time of 3 hours and 56.44 minutes.

Nisha and Brouwer recorded 4 hours and 18.25 minutes and 5 hours and 19.05 minutes, respectively, behind Pretty Sihite, who came third in the Indonesian women’s category with a time of 3 hours and 40.34 minutes. 

In fact, Odeta Elvina Naibaho and Irma Handayani, who won first and second place in the Indonesian women’s category, actually ran in 2 hours and 53 minutes and 3 hours and 14.31, respectively. They were both faster than Ahearn.

The time differences perhaps are not surprising, though, considering that the foreigners who entered the event, like Ahearn, are merely distance running enthusiasts and not elite marathon runners. Yet, for comparison, Ahearn took home IDR142,500,000 (US$9,559) after tax, while Agus Prayogo received IDR112,500,000 (US$7,547).

According to Wina, an obsession for international events puts KONI in a difficult situation, as their focus is supposed to be rewarding the best Indonesian athletes.

Wina said none of this would have happened if the event only had an open category and picked Indonesian winners from there, instead of separating the categories into local and international.

“Directly or indirectly, Indonesia’s reputation is tainted,” she said, adding that Indonesia should have a database for legit sport event organizers.

Mike Akerman all-smiles while posing with his check and trophy. Photo: Obtained.

Akerman himself conceded that he is not much of an athlete and never expected to win any prize money, acknowledging that 41 Indonesian athletes – men and women – finished ahead of him.

“The substantial prize money we eventually received for winning the foreigner category was originally supposed to be for ‘Elite International Athletes’ but for whatever reason, those athletes never joined,” he said.

Despite everything, Akerman admitted that, apart from the prize money issue, IIM was a great event based on his experience.

“I sincerely wish them all the best for future events,” he said.



Reader Interactions

Leave A Reply


BECOME A COCO+ MEMBER

Support local news and join a community of like-minded
“Coconauts” across Southeast Asia and Hong Kong.

Join Now
Coconuts TV
Our latest and greatest original videos
Subscribe on