Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 67, February 2015 | Seite 29

Running

Running & Sport

Ma

Hoop to

Hoop

Basketballer Olivier Olimbo relies on trail
running to maintain the fitness he needs
for the non-stop running of matches.
– BY SEAN FALCONER

B

Images: Courtesy Ergosport Models

asketball was invented in the USA in 1891 and
today is one of the biggest sports in the world.
The game was the brainchild of Canadian
physical education professor James Naismith,
who came up with a new game for his students at
Springfield College to play indoors during the long winter
months, using peach baskets as hoops, hence the name.
Today the sport is especially popular in urban areas,
where sports fields are few, and is attracting more and
more players in South Africa, thanks in part to local TV
coverage of the American NBA competition.
We also have a number of players from other African
countries now based here, including Olivier Olimbo of
Gabon. The 30-year-old full-time student and part-time
sports model came to Cape Town eight years ago, later
enrolling at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology
(CPUT) to do a Bachelor’s degree in information
technology. He recently completed his bachelor’s and is
now thinking about doing his Masters.

Court Fitness

Olivier started playing basketball back home in Gabon
some 15 years ago, and being pretty tall by African
standards at 6 foot 4, or 1.95 metres, he was picked to
play power forward or centre. “The bigger players tend
to play more inside, and I enjoy that part of the game. I
think I’ve got good moves and I’m good at playing with
my body. Also, playing as a power forward or centre,

my job is to have a view of the whole court, and help
on both attack and defence, so the game is non-stop
running!” In order to maintain his fitness, Olivier loves to
lace up his running shoes and hit the trails. “Most of my
running is on Table Mountain or Lions Head, and I also
like to run up to the Rhodes Memorial, but I also run on
the Sea Point Promenade, or in Woodstock, near where
I live. I usually run for about 40 minutes, as required for