South African Athletics Results and Commentary
Transformation Gone Wrong: Unfortunately, in a country where the word transformation has assumed racial connotations, the problem with athletics in South Africa is that it really has not transformed. To start with it must be made abundantly clear that this has nothing to do with race. Athletics, even in the old days of the South…
In this second article we will deal with the issue of the ‘Provinces’ – a complete misnomer, but the main reason why the sport of Athletics is in serious trouble in South Africa. ‘Provinces’ In 1994 South Africa entered a new era, with a new Constitution. In the apartheid days there were four provinces –…
Development is a hot topic in South African sport. For a long time the concepts of ‘development’ and ‘transformation’ were intertwined, so it was not possible to deal with one, without dealing with the other. And it created bizarre terminology: People were too scared to use the language of apartheid, so instead of saying an…
“Where have all the young girls gone, long time passing? Where have all the young girls gone, long time ago? Where have all the young girls gone? Gone for husbands everyone. Oh, when will they ever learn? Oh, when will they ever learn?” That was the question asked by Peter, Mary and Paul in 1962. …
It is not hard to see where athletics in South Africa is going wrong. It is quite simple: The emphasis is in all the wrong places. There was an article on the IOL website entitled: “SA students fall short at World University Games“. Clearly, the impression is that they failed. They won five medals at…
What has happened to the sport of athletics, one of the most pure of all sports? Let’s start at the very beginning. We don’t know for certain how the sport really began, but we can surmise. Two guys argued about who was the faster of the two. So they had a race. Then guys argued…