Gert le Roux: Passionate and pioneering athletics administrator
GERT le Roux, who has died at the age of 78, was a mild, selfdeprecating man who lived for athletics, knew more about it than just about anyone else and dedicated his life to making South African athletics world class both on and off the track.
He became the country’s first full-time athletics administrator in 1971 and from then, until his sadly premature retirement in 1994, was the man who made it all happen.
For 22 years he ensured that every provincial and national athletics meeting was meticulously planned, marketed and executed. Athletics in South Africa under him enjoyed a golden era despite the tragedy of apartheid, which he did all in his power to banish from the sport.
In 1977, athletics became the first sport to adopt a new con- stitution that did away with all apartheid restrictions, and in that year 5 000m and 10 000m runner Matthews Batswadi became the first black athlete to be awarded Springbok colours.
The interest in local athletics has never been higher than it was in the late 1970s and 1980s when, for instance, spectators’ cars would be parked bumper to bumper a kilometre from the stadium to see local stars in action.
They were there because Le Roux understood the importance of promoting star athletes to the public.
He also knew the top athletes personally — the likes of Zola Budd, Johan Fourie, Matthews Temane, Sydney Maree and many others. In fact, as an athletics statistician and historian of international repute, he probably knew more about them and their times and best and worst performances than they did themselves.
The success of South African athletics in those days was based in no small measure on the trust between athletes and administrators. Le Roux created this trust and kept it alive.
His success in making local athletics popular and financially self- sustainable was all the more remarkable given the sports boycott that, in spite of tours that Le Roux — using his extensive international contacts — was able to lead to Europe, the US, South America and Israel, deprived local athletes of the level of international competition that other countries relied on to attract television coverage and sponsorships and motivate their athletes.
It was largely thanks to Le Roux, who for much of this time was South Africa’s only full-time athletics administrator, that the sport in fact became more popular, crowds became bigger and television coverage and sponsorship increased in spite of isolation.
It was both sad and ironic that the end of isolation marked his retirement — no one shook his hand or was there to take the keys of Athletics House from him, he said — and the beginning of the long decline in South African athletics.
The problem, said Le Roux, was that from 1990 people were brought into athletics who had no background in the sport and no burning love for it.
Le Roux was born on June 19 1935 in Theunissen in the Free State. He matriculated at Hoërskool Kroonstad, graduated from the University of the Orange Free State, and became a sports reporter for several Afrikaans newspapers.
His lifelong passion for athletics had nothing to do with his own performances on the track. He was not much good, he said, although he did have a certificate for second place in the under-7 50 yards in Theunissen.
Le Roux is survived by two sons. His daughter Barbara died in a car accident in 1994. His wife Theo died in May.