PRETORIA, South Africa -- A hearing into "shameful" collusion by construction companies that led to bid rigging and price fixing on 2010 World Cup projects opened on Wednesday, tarnishing the legacy of South Africas historic tournament that was initially praised as a glowing success. A tribunal is being asked to confirm fines totalling 1.46 billion rand ($147 million) for 15 companies that conceded to "rigged" projects in the general construction industry in South Africa between 2006 and 2011. World Cup-related work is included in the findings by the Competition Commission, which uncovered the wrongdoing by the countrys biggest building firms in a two-year process in which the companies came forward and acknowledged their roles and the extent of price fixing in exchange for guarantees they wouldnt face criminal prosecution. There was "a shameful pattern of collusion" by the companies, David Unterhalter, a lawyer representing the commission, told the hearing. The collusion by the companies led to inflated prices on projects like the new $730 million Cape Town Stadium and a $200 million contract to redevelop Soccer City stadium and the surrounding precinct in Johannesburg, the World Cups showpiece venue that hosted the opening game and the Spain-Netherlands final. The revelations chip away at the national pride and unity still felt by South Africa after it was widely praised for pulling off a successful World Cup despite initial doubts. An association representing some of the nine host cities for the World Cup estimated that at least five of the cities were overcharged by between 10 and 30 per cent on stadiums and World Cup-related infrastructure. The South African Local Government Association says Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Polokwane could collectively be owed up to $390 million back because of the price fixing. Lawyers representing SALGA and the Gauteng provincial government, which controls South Africas commercial hub, Johannesburg, asked for permission at the start of the two-day tribunal hearing to intervene in the process, wanting more disclosure on the rigged projects. Tribunal chairman Norman Manoim dismissed their application, but the cities can pursue damages from the companies in civil court once the hearing has ruled on the fines. South Africas central government spent about $3 billion on the first World Cup in Africa, including the building of six new stadiums, the rebuilding of Soccer City and the upgrading of the other three venues. SALGA, the local government association, argued that the fines handed down by the commission -- one of which was only about 3 per cent of the company in questions annual turnover -- might not be appropriate to the scale of the price fixing, but the cities will now likely have to go to a civil court to get money back in damages. 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Catch all the action on TSN2 at 11pm et/8pm pt. The nine-time Big 12 champion Jayhawks are positioning themselves for another title, as they have run out to a flawless 6-0 mark in conference play thus far. Maggie Crawford was deep in the Wyoming wilderness in the spring of 2013, leading a trip with the National Outdoors Leadership School (NOLS), when she started forgetting peoples names.She was sick to her stomach and somehow also hungry -- hoarding food, eating anything anyone left out but still losing drastic amounts of weight. Finally, she had to admit something was wrong. She used the emergency satellite phone to call headquarters. Then she hiked 20 miles to meet up with the refueling truck to begin the long trip back home to California.For Crawford, 28, it was also the start of a whole new life -- she just didnt know it yet. I definitely had diabetes then, but I had no idea, she says.Until that moment, Crawford had always taken advantage of her good health. She and her now-husband, Timbo Stillinger, spent a year bumming around New Zealand after college, chasing adventure and sleeping in tents. Then they moved back to the U.S. and lived in a decked-out van, hiking, skiing and climbing every day. They surfed and ran ultramarathons. In the fall of 2012, Crawford was training to break the womens record for summiting all of Californias 14ers -- peaks over 14,000 feet. She planned to climb all 15 mountains in only five days.But she got sick partway through the attempt, could barely crawl out of her sleeping bag, and bailed on the record. She assumed she just had giardia (a parasite) and, as soon as she could, she headed right back out to join that fateful NOLS trip. Instead of feeling like her normal self, though, she spent months being sick.After she self-evacuated from Wyoming, got a ride with the refueling truck, and made her way back to Santa Barbara, it took only one visit to the doctor to get a diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes.After the fact, looking back, it was a lot more obvious. There were all these things, small chronic issues, we were wondering about that then made sense, Stillinger says.Type 1 diabetes meant Crawfords pancreas had stopped producing insulin. This can be caused by a combination of genetics and her bodys own immune system reacting to harmful viruses or bacteria. Crawfords diabetes probably was triggered by the bacteria she picked up during her 14ers record attempt, but it also runs in her family. Her cousin, a professional cyclist, was diagnosed just before she was.Diabetics arent able to process the sugar they eat; they cant turn it from glucose in the bloodstream into energy. That means they have to give themselves insulin shots and must carefully manage their diet and stress levels, which can also increase blood glucose.They kind of just sent me home with insulin and needles. It was terrifying, Crawford says. Equally terrifying was that this seemed to mean the end to all of her adventures. Type 1 diabetes doesnt go away, and she didnt want to spend the rest of her life without climbing another mountain or surfing another wave. Instead, she set about trying to figure out how to be healthy and happy.She just kind of took the initiative from day one, developed a plan, and stuck with it. Its been pretty impressive to watch, Stillinger says.Fortunately for Crawford, she knew where to start. As an undergrad at UC Berkeley, she studied nutrition and worked in a lab doing diabetes research. She called up her old boss, and soon she was connected to a whole world of Type 1 diabetics who still ride their biikes across mountains and surf every morning, who still do more stuff than most people who dont have it, Stillinger says.dddddddddddd They helped her figure out what works and what definitely doesnt.First up: a little stability.I thought, All right, we probably shouldnt live in a van anymore, she jokes, if for no other reason than her medicine needed to stay cold and its hard to keep things cold while living in a van. But the diagnosis also helped her come to terms with the idea of creating permanence and sustainability in her life.In the year after her diagnosis, she and Stillinger became engaged. He started grad school, and she started a job working in public health. She then got accepted into a PhD program at UC San Diego, where she now works with mostly Type 2 diabetics on health behaviors -- hoping to make sure no one has to go through the same uncertain time she went through after her diagnosis. The two of them moved into a house outside San Diego and adopted a dog, whom Crawford then trained to detect -- with his nose -- when Crawfords blood sugar is high.But the pair didnt get too domestic. Crawfords next step was figuring out what adventures still made sense, and that meant finding a way to manage her diabetes.She now eats a vegan, gluten-free and generally low-fat diet. It helps her keep inflammation down and makes her body more sensitive to the insulin she takes. But it took some trial and error to learn what kinds of foods keep her blood sugar fairly steady. Apples, for example, though tasty, vegan and gluten-free, dont work well for her.And it took some experimenting to figure out how to do what she still wanted to do. When she goes into the mountains, theres no way to get medical help if her blood sugar gets too low, so her doctors told her to keep her blood sugar a little high during long trips. When she runs ultramarathons, her blood sugar will be elevated for a week after. Learning these things was part of a process.She also has learned not to push her body past the point of safety. Instead of extreme events, the couple has started doing shorter trips, which are easier to manage, but with harder and more intense efforts mixed in. She probably wont go for the 14ers record again, but she is testing herself with new challenging climbs.Crawford runs each morning to help manage her insulin levels, and when she rides her bike to the beach to surf, all the lifeguards know its her because of the bananas she leaves sitting in the sand and the gel she has taped inside her wetsuit.Having a community that knows and supports her, and that she also gives back to, has been a valuable part of her post-diabetic life. When she wears her continuous blood glucose monitor -- a recent development that has revolutionized her ability to manage things while climbing or running or biking -- other diabetics will see it and come talk to her. She regularly talks with new diabetics and gives them advice or tips to navigate the same process she went through after diagnosis.It has not slowed her down at all. If anything, its lit the fire even brighter to do more things, Stillinger says. Its a burden for sure, but I think our lives are better now. Theyre healthier and more fulfilled. And not any less fun. ' ' '