SA athletes back from chaotic event in Nigeria

Asaba – The South African team’s campaign at the African Athletics Championships in Nigeria ended in frustration yesterday, but a gesture from the head of the national federation ensured every other member of the SA contingent arrived home as scheduled.

With administrative errors leaving six South Africans hoping to get a seat on the final domestic flight from Asaba to the international airport in Lagos on Monday evening, Athletics SA president Aleck Skhosana gave up his boarding pass to ensure the other five individuals could catch the flight to Johannesburg.

Skhosana said he was assisted by the local organising committee (LOC) to find a room at a nearby hotel for the evening.

He was hoping to leave Nigeria late last night and was expected to arrive in Johannesburg this morning.

“I’m just glad everyone has made it home safe and sound,” Skhosana said yesterday.

It was a challenging tour for the entire SA contingent. It started with a three-day journey to the biennial continental championships, hampered by visa issues and a bottleneck created by congestion, with various countries jostling to get hundreds of athletes from Lagos to Asaba on limited unscheduled flights last week.

The LOC later laid some of the blame on national delegations for arriving in Lagos days after they had been expected.

Other issues faced by visiting nations included a shortage of hotel rooms and poor standards of accommodation.

This resulted in athletes having to share beds and sleep on floors.

At the stadium, athletes were met with a track that was visibly uneven and a warm-up area which consisted of a thin strip of track laid out on concrete.

After attempting to brush aside these problems, South Africa finished second behind Kenya in the final standings with a total of 30 medals.