Former 800m ace worried about athletics development

Daveyton athletics coach Isaac Ndlovu says athletics have taken a nosedive in South Africa.

He said the lack of development was a pressing issue the head honchos of the sport needed to tackle.

The former 800m specialist pointed out that South Africa’s performance at the last Olympic Games in Tokyo and the 18th World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon last year left a bitter taste in his mouth.

In Tokyo, South Africa returned home without an athletics medal – South Africa’s only podium joy came from swimmer Tatjana Schoenmaker and surfer Bianca Buitendag.

It was also the case in Eugene, where for the second successive world championships following Doha 2019, South Africa returned without a single medal on the track and field after winning six medals in London in 2017.

“It was painful. I didn’t see any of our runners finish on the podium. Fortunately, our swimmers brought us medals. It showed that development is taken seriously in swimming and other sporting codes,” he said.

The former South African schools champion appealed to Athletics South Africa (ASA) to return to basics and invest more resources in development.

“Our performance at the Olympics and World Championships really hit home because it showed that athletics is not being governed properly. That’s why we had no medals.

“I’m appealing to ASA to take development seriously so we can reclaim our place in world athletics,” Ndlovu pleaded.

Ndlovu’s career was hampered by injuries. He turned to coach as he realised he had no chance of representing the country after its readmission into the world stage during the early 90s.

“During my time, athletics were highly competitive, but the sporting sanctions, because of the country’s politics, shattered our dreams,” he said.

“We competed without sponsors and when you won at the national championships, we couldn’t compete internationally because of the sanctions.

“I continued to compete, winning my first 800m national title in the 1987/88 season. After that, I stopped running.”

Development of athletics in Daveyton

He cut his teeth in coaching at Daveyton Athletics Club before founding the Daveyton Hearts in 2001 where he remained until 2018 when he decided to join the East Athletic Club.

“Sport is a business. It changes people’s lives to avoid injuries and nurture players in a professional environment.

We need to run clubs professionally in the townships so that children don’t run only at schools and don’t pursue the sport afterwards. This affects the talent pool of the country,” he said about his decision to become a coach.

At East Athletics Club, their programme only focuses on middle-distance events with no plans for field and sprint events due to a lack of a facility with a track and field in Daveyton.

“This is the reason we don’t have many black athletes in the field events. We have children in the townships who can excel at javelin, hammer throw or shotput.

“We don’t do field or sprint events because we have no facility that caters for such. This affects our children. How are we going to help South Africa when our only available stadium, the Sinaba Stadium, is always locked?” he asked.

Despite these challenges, Ndlovu has unearthed two gems in Thato Sesoko and Mathapelo Ntanga, who are among the best young middle-distance runners in Ekurhuleni.

As they prepare for the cross-country season beginning next month, the coach is adamant a plan will be made soon and Daveyton will boast a proper athletics facility to fast-track development in the area.

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