Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 98, September 2017 | Page 5

Ma EDITOR’S LETTER PUBLISHERS Mike Bray & Craig Van der Westhuizen DIVISIONAL HEAD Richard Laskey [email protected] CONTENT MANAGER Roxanne Martin [email protected] Double the Inspiration O ne of the perks of my job is to interview and write about top athletes, and South Africa certainly has a lot of world class talent when it comes to road running, trail running, track and field, multisport, race walking, obstacle racing, and other running disciplines. As a result, I often find myself feeling inspired in my own running by the exploits of our top athletes, and this month I am feeling doubly inspired. Let me explain why. roads and trails, this month’s cover features 2017 Comrades gold medallist Danette Smith, who can also lay claim to a unique double of SA titles on both the road and trails – read about it on page 12, and this just adds to my doubled inspiration. OK, she actually has a treble that inspires me even more, but for the sake of this Ed’s Letter, I will focus on her double. At the recent World Champs in London, Caster Semenya ‘doubled’ in the 800m and 1500m and brought home two medals, her third World Champs title, and an SA record. Wayde van Niekerk ‘doubled’ in the 200m and 400m, also winning two medals and proving that he really is the true heir to the great Michael Johnson as the new face of global sprinting. Meanwhile our long jumpers Luvo Manyonga and Rushwahl Samaai ‘doubled’ by both finishing on the podium at the World Champs. Now I don’t feel the urge to go out and try to emulate them. I mean, I am never going to run the 400m in 43 seconds like Wayde van Niekerk, or a 1:55 for 800m like Caster Semenya, and I am definitely never going to jump over eight metres like Luvo Manyonga. (To be honest, I think I would be hard-pressed to jump even four or five metres, and I don’t even want to speculate how much slower I would be over 400m or 800m!) It was incredible to watch these athletes claiming all these doubles this past month, but it came hot on the heels of other doubles that we feature in this month’s magazine. At the rece nt World Under-18 Champs in Kenya, our young stars of the track also posted a number of doubles worth writing home about. Retshidisitswe Mlenga and Tshenolo Lemao each brought home a gold and a silver as they traded places on the podium in the 100m and 200m finals, giving South Africa a wonderful one-two in both events. Meanwhile, Sokwakhana Zazini and Zeney van der Walt won the boys’ and girls’ 400m hurdles finals within minutes of each other for yet another double. (You can ‘meet’ all these medallists on page 14.) Bringing things back home, and turning to the Not Going to Set Any Records… But watching these South African heroes do their thing on the world stage, or on the roads and trails here in SA, excites me and inspires me – and makes me want to lace up my running shoes and head out for a run. I will always be a contented back of pack social runner, enjoying the views along the way and chatting to all the wonderful people I meet through running, but I still take inspiration from the achievements of my running heroes. So enjoy the read, be inspired by all the doubles, and then go double your efforts in your own running! Sean Falconer Follow me on Twitter: @sean_falconer Follow the mag as well: @modern_athlete EDITORIAL TEAM EDITOR Sean Falconer [email protected] DIGITAL EDITOR Keith Kennedy [email protected] DESIGNER Caroline Collings [email protected] ADVERTISING SALES Richard Laskey 083 342 8200 / [email protected] SUBSCRIPTIONS & DISTRIBUTION [email protected] EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS Regulars: Christine Peters, Derick Marcisz, Ernest Hobbs, Jeannie Jordaan, Norrie Williamson, PJ Moses, Ray Orchison, Reggie Hufkie, René Kalmer, Roxanne Martin, Sean Falconer, The Gentleman Racer, Tom Cottrell Guest Writers: Bennie & Elsje du Plessis, Fallon Finlayson, Jackie Henrick, Jason Edgecomb, Jill Swart, Kim Boshoff, Kim Stephens, Madeleine Zwaneveld, Magz de la Kethulle de Ryhove, Philip Boardman, Teboho Makhaya COVER IMAGE Chris Walley IMAGES Photo Agencies & Professional photographers: BackTrack Sports, Chris Walley, iStock, Jetline Action Photo, Mark Sampson, Reg Caldecott, Simon de Haast/pixelsthatrock.com, Tobias Ginsberg Non-professional photographers: Jeannie Jordaan, Trevlyn Palframan Courtesy: Alec Riddle, Andrew McGill, Discovery, Fallon Finlayson, Gary Arendse, IAAF, Jackie Henrick, Jason Edgecomb, Kim Stephens, Ledile Sekele, Letjedi Masoga, Loyiso Malandela, Moegsien Ebrahim, Msizi Zulu, Nisar Tiseker, Philip Boardman, PJ Moses, René Kalmer, Rory Pelser, Taryn Ferreira, Teboho Makhaya, Wildrunner Events, YouTube, and various Race Organisers, Athletes & PR companies FIND US TELEPHONE [phone] E-MAIL [email protected] PHYSICAL ADDRESS Cnr Koornhof & Essex Road, Meadowdale Ext 1, Germiston WEB www.modernathlete.co.za FACEBOOK www.facebook.com/modernathletemag TWITTER @modern_athlete Modern Athlete is accredited by the ABC with an average monthly circulation of 60,093 (Jan - March 2017) WINNERS’ CORNER Congratulations to all the winners of our August edition competitions. 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