Sprinter getting his career on track
ONCE South Africa’s fastest athlete and Olympic hopeful, Simon Magakwe is working hard to regain his title.
The 31-year-old sprinter was the first South African to run a sub-10-second 100 metres with a searing 9.98-second sprint in 2014.
Magakwe has spent the last two years away from the track after he received a two-year ban for missing an out-of-competition drugs test. Since then, four other South African athletes have surpassed his record, with Wayde van Niekerk the latest athlete to run a sub-10-second 100m sprint.
“I watched Wayde’s run this week and I was blown away by how impressive he was,” says Magakwe. “I’m very happy that several South Africans have run the 100m in under 10 seconds. Seeing all these athletes pass my record has motivated me to push harder to get back to my best.”
Magakwe went through a “roller-coaster of emotions” during his ban, admitting he was ready to hang up his running boots and call it a day.
“My life had fallen apart. I became an alcoholic and I was drinking every day to numb the pain. I would spend my days lazing on the couch, getting drunk and doing silly things.”
Magakwe, who still insists he never missed a doping test, and was “sabotaged” by the drug board appointed to conduct his dope test in December 2014, says his life spiralled out of control after his mother’s death in August last year.
“I was ready to die and be with my mother,” he says.
He lost his home, his possessions and all his money. He lives at a friend’s place because he can’t afford a place of his own.
“I tried so hard to keep myself together but it was very tough because when I think about what I lost, it was really hard. I mean I was on the verge of becoming a millionaire. My life was going well. I was on the cusp of signing a few sponsorship deals and, in a flash, everything changed.”
Now the three-time African champion and eight-time SA champion says while his life has been ruined by the two-year ban he “shouldn’t have received”, he doesn’t hold grudges against the drug board. “I made peace with it,” says Magakwe.
“I still believe I’m the best sprinter in the country, and it’s up to me now to show the world what I’m made of.”
While Magakwe has his eye on competing at the Commonwealth Games next year and the Olympic Games in 2020, his immediate focus is to get into shape for the European season next month.