While South African athletes may have provided us with some heart-stopping moments at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, they have not really captured the imagination of the world with their performances.
If they are indeed honest with themselves, they will admit that they did not really dig deep enough to make an impression in the second biggest sporting event after the Fifa World Cup.
Africa’s fastest man Akani Simbine, 800m sensation Prudence Sekgodiso and the retiring swimming star Tatjana Smith made headlines when they set themselves up for gold in the men’s 100m, women’s 800m and the swimming finals, respectively.
Simbine dragged every piece of fibre in his body, and he was as aerodynamic as he could have ever been, but dejectedly, an individual medal proved elusive yet again. Simbine later consoled himself after he won silver in the 4X100m relay on Friday night.
As for kideo Sekgodiso, it was a major learning curve in her first appearance at the Olympics, and she will go back stronger and wiser.
Smith wanted as many gold medals as she possibly hoard. She got one and had to be content with being the bridesmaid in her second final.
It was her last Olympics and she wanted to crown it with gold – but there’s a silver lining to every dark cloud, literally and figuratively, and she can take solace in that datum.
And today, as the curtain falls on these pictographic Olympics, it is time to do some reflection. As they say, it is time to go back to the drawing board and start planning for the next edition in Los Angeles in 2028. Mzansi athletes, coaches and office bearers must start looking themselves in the mirror.
The inconsistency is alarming, and no one is taking responsibility. For most, it was a free ticket to paradise, rather than a quest for medals. If countries like Botswana, Georgia or Philippines can show some bite, SA’s 150 athletes had no reason to come back home with only
four medals.
Many will remember the Paris razzmatazz for its colour, the buzz and some of the temporarily designed, plug and play venues. The track & field athletic stadium was simply stunning, the rowing and canoeing setting at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical, Seine and Teahupo’o were a sight to behold while beach volleyball fields on the foot of the Eiffel Tower were just a stroke of genius.
There was a lot of eccentric athletes, intense battles, characters, and individual brilliance, as compared to the Tokyo 2020 edition, which was staged in 2021 due to Covid-19.
The 2021 games were a bit -drab and hazardous as the world was still getting used to the coronavirus.
The Olympics were not really a priority, people were more concerned about staying alive.
More world records and Olympic records were shattered this year. Teenagers came to the fore and put their countries on the map. People are now talking about St Lucia, whose Julien Alfred won gold in the Women’s 100m and silver in the 200m.
That is the beauty of the Olympics and we wish that one day…just one day, Mzansi will come to the party.
