Rio victory exposes flaws in South African psyche

WORLD icon and our former president, Nelson Mandela, demonstrated the power of sport to unite people across barriers of race, age and gender

The masterstroke of wearing the number 6 Springbok rugby jersey as South Africa participated and won the Rugby World Cup in 1995, was a beacon to a country which had been on the brink of a civil war, a country wracked by suspicion and hatred.

It was a signal that it was permissible to be proud South Africans, that we could be compatriots across the colour-line. And, to underscore the effectiveness of Mandela’s message to the nation, people danced and sang in the streets of cities and towns across the country, an outpouring of excitement and joy at our success. An outpouring of brotherhood – one nation.

A lot has happened since that remarkable day, and not much of it good. We, as South Africans, are bowed under the weight of escalating costs, unemployment, crime, graft, and a host of other social ills. There hasn’t been much to be happy about of late.

Then came the Rio Olympic Games, that world sporting arena where years of toil and training are put to the test and, in some cases, found wanting.

Like sports fans the world over, South Africans too are used to being disappointed. We pin our hopes on a star performer, we are convinced that they will do it again, bring home those medals and then we feel a little let down when they don’t live up to our expectations. But this year, our squad, in their awful tracksuits, did us proud.

It was satisfying to see that the bad news, the crime, the political manoeuvring, and more tales of ineptitude faded into the background this past week as we all, as one country, celebrated the biggest medal haul of South Africa’s Olympic Games history.Ten medals. two of them gold, was a fine performance from our athletes. Our own Chad Le Clos became the most decorated South African Olympian to date and, although we did not win any medals in the marathon on Sunday afternoon, one of our athletes, Lusapho April, finished in 24th position. Out of a field of 155 Olympic runners, that result was not too shabby either.

But there are always the spoilers, aren’t there. We had the astonishing achievement of Wayde van Niekerk, a quiet, unassuming athlete on the far side of the track. A runner who was not among the flamboyant back slappers, muscle flexing brigade. But he demonstrated his prowess on the track and what a performance it was, smashing a long-standing world record and bringing home the gold.

The reaction here at home from some quarters was not that one of our own had accomplished this amazing feat but whether it was a victory for his culture, his ethnic group. Surely, before we start politicising every little action, we should celebrate the achievement of a countryman, a South African first and foremost.

This is such a horrible South African habit. Many of us constantly break everything down to the colour of ones skin and measuring every achievement against that yardstick.

We think we have moved forward since 1994 but in this regard we have hardly budged an inch, and we will not, until we all forget about colour and see the person under the skin. Only then will we be a united nation and all the sporting victories in the world will not change that. The fleeting unity which follows these achievements give us a glimpse of our future and what we can be if we all put our prejudices aside and strive to make a difference.