EDITORIAL
MZANSI MAKING HISTORY
What a few weeks it’ s been in SA sport, and the best part is, there’ s so much more to come!
No sooner had George Kusche and Gerda Steyn sailed across the Comrades Marathon finish line in record time, than we were back in the thick of FIFA World Cup action with Bafana Bafana performing beyond our wildest expectations, drawing with Czechia, beating South Korea and then coming so close against Canada.
In the middle of all that, our SA hockey boys picked up a silver medal at the Nations Cup at a packed-out Hartleyvale Stadium in Cape Town, and the Proteas women are still doing their thing in England after impressive wins over Pakistan, India, the Netherlands and Bangladesh and progressing to the semifinal. We’ ll choose to ignore that opening blip against Australia!
Then there are our athletes who are tearing up the track in Europe – with Zakithi Nene and Sinesipho Dambile flying to recent Diamond League victories and Prudence Sekgodiso running a stunning new PB in Paris.
And the month ahead looks just as jam-packed with the Springboks kicking things off against England, the Tour de France, Wimbledon finals, World Cup finals, and, of course, the Commonwealth Games.
The Comm Games are a bit of an odd concept really, slightly outdated even – Britain’ s old empire gathering every four years to compete. It’ s obviously evolved into more than that, but somehow feels slightly politically incorrect. Nevertheless, it affords our athletes an important chance to compete, particularly in a year when there are no Olympic Games or World Championships( for swimming or athletics).
They also provide a vital stepping stone to those who have not yet reached the pinnacle of their sports. Think of Chad le Clos and Tatjana Smith, who both gave a hint of what was to come by topping their respective Commonwealth Games podiums two years before their initial Olympic successes. Chad is still going, by the way – and gearing up for his fifth Games!
So we’ ve brought you plenty of Comm Games content in this month’ s mag – with a chat to one of our top medal prospects in the pool, Pieter Coetzé, a full-on preview, a look back at some favourite Games memories, a deep dive into our netball prospects, and even a story about one of our lawn bowlers, Jax van Rensburg.
There’ s also a look back at Comrades – with Rory Petzer giving us a behind-the-scenes view of his day on the mic and a chat with the remarkable Nobuhle Tshuma. The incredible Rope Runner Marissa Groenewald gives us her account of a gruelling day out on the road, and Megan Crouse shares her personal journey and why she’ ll be back on the start line next year after falling just short. You can also read all about former champion and one of the stalwarts of the race – the man known to many as Ysterman – Nick Bester.
Don’ t miss our top tips on beating the winter blues and preventing injury in the cold, while columnist Candice de Mendonca cuts through all those nutrition myths we need to stop believing.
If all this doesn’ t inspire you to get off the couch and onto the road / field / track / gym / pool before buckling down to do some serious sports watching, I’ m not sure what will.
Enjoy every moment of it,
Karien Jonckheere karien @ modernathlete. co. za
4 www. modernathlete. co. za