From Bolt and Kylie to banter and board games, SA’ s Commonwealth stars share their unforgettable Games moments.
By Mark Etheridge
CHAD LE CLOS
( SA’ s most decorated Commonwealth Games swimmer with 18 medals)
HENRI SCHOEMAN
( South Africa’ s first and only triathlon gold medal winner at Gold Coast, 2018)
“ I’ m blessed to have gone to four Games. My most special was the first, in Delhi 2010 – it was my first real senior team outside the 2009 World Championships. Winning the 200m fly was my special race. Then also getting the fly treble in 2018 – the 50, 100, 200m – in Gold Coast was massive, the first ever swimmer to do that. Glasgow 2014 was special as the crowd was so awesome. My seven medals equalled Ian Thorpe’ s alltime record of medals at one Games. Birmingham was probably the most difficult, getting fourth four times, but I had such great fun. Memories outside the pool for me were in 2018, meeting Usain Bolt [ Olympic track legend ] who was DJing at one of the nightclubs after the swimming! The coolest part of the Friendly Games for me over the years is that we get to watch the Sevens boys and other codes.”
“ Getting gold in Gold Coast was great but it was also there that I had my best experiences. What I remember most fondly was having my family there, both my parents came over from SA and my brother was already living there so having the whole family there was something I’ ll always remember. They watched me race and one of the key things that stood out was how relaxed I was even before the race. Two nights before the race I went over to their place and we were playing a board game called Catan and it was just so super-cool to do that stuff outside the whole Games experience, something to cherish.”
ANRIETTE SCHOEMAN
( Three-time Commonwealth Games competitor and winner of seven Cape Town Cycle Tours)
GERONAY WHITEBOOI
( SA’ s first female Commonwealth Games judo gold medallist)
“ What stands out was the opening ceremony in 1998. We all had to walk in formation, wearing colour-coded shirts [ to depict the SA flag ]. When we walked into the stadium, the crowd cheered so loudly I had goosebumps! Another memory is the camaraderie of the athletes and when we flew to Malaysia, the rugby guys were sitting right behind us. They were obviously big guys and so uncomfortable – that made for a good chuckle. We all mingled like we knew each other. I remember the one day having such a nice chat with Chester Williams sitting on a random flight of stairs and when we went to the basement to get our bikes, the cricket guys were busy playing“ tennis” with their bats. In 2014, I went to the closing ceremony of Glasgow and remember Kylie Minogue really igniting the stage.”
“ Birmingham 2022 was really a special moment … Yes, winning gold and singing the national anthem was a highlight, but it was also a Games after the Covid pandemic so we could socialise, meet new people and actually enjoy the Games instead of just competing / winning and going home. So I could watch wrestling after competing and see the difference between the codes. And we had celebrations at the Team SA hub with the minister and some great artists. The overall feeling of freedom was amazing, even though we still had responsibilities to compete and still stay safe against Covid.”
Photo courtesy of: World Aquatics / Alex Cooper www. modernathlete. co. za 17