Sam decries medals haul
Meagre pickings for South Africa, Sascoc chief says
DESPITE the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) yesterday paying a total of R2.7-million in incentives to Team SA members for the 10 medals won at the Rio Olympics, its president has raised concerns, saying it was unacceptable that a country as huge as South Africa, could only manage to amass so few medals. Sascoc president Gideon Sam this week raised concerns about the performance of Team SA, saying it was unacceptable that a country with over 55 million citizens could amass just 10 medals, while New Zealand, with a population of over 4.5 million people, garnered 18 medals in Rio. Speaking in East London on Monday during former sports minister Makhenkesi Stofile's memorial service, Sam said the medal-haul showed that administration was not up to scratch in some sporting codes in the country. Addressing thousands of mourners, including politicians, academics and government officials, who came to pay tribute to Stofile ahead of his funeral in Alice on Thursday, Sam said it cannot be right that a country with so many people, could only manage so few medals. “How is it possible that a country with 55 million people can go to the Olympics and only come back with 10 medals, tell me how is that possible?
“This is while a small country like New Zealand, with 4.5 million citizens, gets 18 medals, while a small island such as Jamaica has also won more than we did. Surely that cannot be right,” said Sam to laughter.
Sam went on to lambast Nigeria, saying they had performed worse than South Africa.
“However, we should not despair, as we are not that bad compared to Nigeria, with more than 160 million citizens, and could only manage one medal.”
Sam told the gathering that his experience as a sports administrator was in the main thanks to the influence of Stofile, who had always insisted on strong sport structures, saying they were key to improving sport in the country.
“(Stofile) was instrumental in building structures of sport from the ground in the Eastern Cape and beyond. Today we can go to the Olympics and come back with medals, because of the foundation he had laid for our people.
“However, structures are now dying and as a result of that, we have very poor administrators in sport.
“When people see a team here too white, they cry and complain, but I ask them: ‘why don’t you work on the ground because that is what Stofile taught us, to work on the ground so that structures could be strong and once they are strong, we will be able to take over,” he said.
Team SA were showered with accolades when they touched down at OR Tambo International Airport yesterday. In Rio, South Africa won two golds, six silvers and two bronze medals, finishing 30th on the overall medal table. Sascoc committed a total of R2.7-million for those who had won medals as well as their coaches. In his column on the Sascoc website, Sam said what SA should now concentrate on “was how we build from the achievements in Rio in preparation for Commonwealth Games in Australia, then Tokyo 2020 and then our very own showpiece, the Commonwealth Games in Durban in 2022”.
“I think we should give the federations an opportunity to think about how they see the road to Durban.
“At some point we then have to sit down and consider specific areas to look at.
“Also, forging closer relations with academies where these exist and inviting universities with strong sport departments to provide input in the planning and execution of federations’ plans as we move forward towards 2022,” he said. —