Category — South Africa

Jesus H. Christ. It sounds like those grumpy athletic officials really, really dislike Oscar Pistorius. How can you explain the following statement by IAAF General Secretary Pierre Weiss:

The decision by CAS (the Court of Arbitration in Sport which allowed Pistorius to compete with able-bodied runners) applies to all athletics events. But if he runs in the pack, there’s a risk that he or another athlete will fall.

Of course Pierre, it’s a running competition. There’s always the risk that a runner will fall. But it’s hard to see how Pistorius falling will be any different from any other athlete falling. Here’s Weiss and his very “wise” words again:

The South Africans have qualified without Pistorius and if they take him they are going to have to remove another relay runner.

It’s a decision that rests with the officials of the federation and the South African Olympic Committee, but we’d prefer that they don’t select him for reasons of safety.

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How can you not be inspired by South Africa’s Natalie Du Toit? She lost a leg in 2001. Seven years later, she earns a ticket to the Beijing Olympics. Yes, you read that right, she’s going to the Olympics not to the Paralympic Games.

From Reuters: “South African amputee Natalie Du Toit qualified for the Beijing Olympics on Saturday after she finished fourth in the 10km race in the Open Water World Championships.”

A 10 kilometer swimming race? That’s pretty grueling. We should admire Natalie even more. By the way, check out Natalie’s website if you want to know more about her inspiring journey.

Finally, here’s a Youtube video featuring Natalie and other South African heroes. It includes my favorite modern hero, Nelson Mandela, so you Mandela groupies should be very happy.

Include South African Sports Confederation and Olympics Committee President, Moss Mashishi, among those who would rather not make medal predictions for this coming Beijing Olympiad. Here’s what he says on the prospective performance of South African Olympians:

“We have avoided targets with specific numbers but hope to improve from one Olympic Games to the next. We encourage the athletes to do their best without any undue pressure”.

So far, 40 South African athletes are going to Beijing. They are:

Archery: Calvin Hartley
Boxing: Jackson Chauke
Cycling: Robbie Hunter, John-Lee Augustyn, David George, Burry Stander, Yolande Speed
Diving: Jenna Dreyer
Fencing: Jyoti Chetty, Adele du Plooy, Elvira Wood, Michael Wood, Dario Torrente, Sello Maduma
Gymnastics (rhythmic): Odette Richard
Sailing: Penny Alison, Dominique Provoyeur, Kim Rew
Shooting: Diane Swanton, Esmari van Reenen
Swimming: Kathryn Meaklim, Melissa Corfe, Jessica Pengelly, Lize-Mari Retief, Mandy Loots, Wendy Trott, Suzaan van Biljon, Cameron van der Burgh, Darian Townsend, Gerhard Zandberg, George du Rand, Gideon Louw, Jean Basson, Lyndon Ferns, Neil Versfeld, Riaan Schoeman, Roland Schoeman, Ryk Neethling, Troy Prinsloo, William Diering