Congratulations to World Champions Luvo Manyonga and Caster Semenya who won big at the South African Sports Awards at the Emperors Palace last Sunday.
Manyonga won the sportsman of the year award, and I cannot begin to imagine how proud he is of how far he has come. He excelled last year at the Rio Olympics and bagged a long jump silver medal with a gold at the London IAAF World Championships in August.
Semenya raced to victory in the women’s 800 metres at last year’s Olympiad, adding the gold medal to her growing collection. She also won a bronze in the women’s 1 500 metres at the World Championships.
When we talk about national pride we are talking about athletes like these who perform beyond expectation. In fact, if my memory serves me well, Semenya has never disappointed the nation in all the games she has participated in. She is an example of a national treasure and she deserves every good thing that comes her way, and more.
Manyonga also continues to succeed in his sporting career and he is not looking back. Well done, brother and all the best.
Meanwhile in the Cape, our beloved Cape Town City head coach Benni McCarthy celebrated his 40th birthday last Sunday.
I cannot believe he is that old now. Twitter was buzzing as he received well wishes. He has reached this milestone and he’s doing great things, we’re proud of you, brother. Continue to be our shining star.
