Gayton Mckenzie has a huge task on his hands to fix South Africa at the Olympics

South Africans will be familiar with the phrase “Hulle weet nie wat ons weet nie” used by Ultimate Fighting Champion, Dricus du Plessis recently when he won the Middleweight title fight. When he explained the phrase, he described it as South Africans willing to go the extra mile to win. 

He used it to explain that South Africans are built differently and that despite our challenges we will give our all to win, to fight and to make our mark on a global scale especially when it comes to sport. 

Our sporting teams have been excellent on a global scale. The Proteas making the final of the Cricket World Cup recently, the Springboks winning two Rugby World Cups in a row. Even the generally hapless Bafana Bafana performed admirably at the most recent African Cup of Nations. 

Now, more recently, our Olympic delegation performed well doubling their medal haul compared to the previous edition. South Africa bagged six medals compared to Tokyo where we came home with three. While that may not seem like a lot compared to nations like China, the US and Great Britain, it is important to note what a feat this was given the little athletes we had attending as well as the struggles our athletes face. 

Olympic silver winner in the javelin highlighted Jo-Ane van Dyk who described her journey as “difficult” relying on funding from her parents rather than government institutions. For a country that produces such exceptional talent, underfunded athletes cannot be tolerated. It is something that must be rectified with urgency. 

Imagine if our athletes received the backing that other countries received. Take for example Australia and Japan, both countries finished in the top five on the medal table. South Africa can compete with both countries in most other sporting codes but when it comes to gold medals, Japan finished with 20 and Australia with 18. Comparatively, South Africa had one.

For comparison, South Africa sent around 150 athletes whereas Japan and Australia sent numbers in the 400s. That simply cannot be. Our athletes, sports and grassroots competitions need funding. We need to pour money into athletics, swimming and various other sporting codes and ensure they are developed to give out athletes every chance of success.

It cannot be a lack of talent because in other sports that are well-funded like cricket and rugby we are constantly challenging and excelling. That is something that Gayton McKenzie the new Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture has promised to do. 

On the social media app X, he posted the following: 

“I salute all Olympians, making it there is a huge milestone, competing against ppl with 20 times your budget and preparation time & still doubling your Tokyo medal tally is even a more bigger achievement. We will have no excuse in 2028. The preparation is starting now in earnest.”

He also issued an apology to our Olympians following Van Dyk’s complaints about a lack of support:

“This nonsense will not happen under my watch. I wanna profusely apologise to all athletes that experienced same. You have my absolute word that things will be much different and better for out athletes in future. The stories by the hockey fraternity will drive you 2 real tears”, he posted.

It is good that McKenzie is well aware of the issues facing our athletes, it is also admirable that he acknowledges that it needs fixing by way of an apology. But he has his work cut out for him. 

GroundUp an investigative journalism outlet published an article in early August detailing how the National Lottery Commission stepped up three weeks before the event to issue a lifeline to the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) by way of a grant that boosted participation at the Games. 

This money came with strict instructions on how it could be used. Previously, some athletes had to crowdfund to attend the Games as Sascoc came up short in ensuring their funding. There are blatant issues within Sascoc and it is in desperate need of an overhaul. As GroundUp reported, the strict conditions were a result of “abuse of the hundreds of millions of rands that had poured into the Olympic body’s coffers over the years while top athletes struggled to find funding to compete on the world stage.” 

Without going into the details of looted funds, it is imperative that Sascoc is fixed if South Africa is to have any chance of competing at such global events. A recent governance inquiry into Sascoc revealed some damning assertions. These include a lack of ethical leadership, very little effort put into high performance of athletes, lack of governance, transparency and abuse of public funds. 

McKenzie’s work will be cut out for him especially if he is to overturn such a traditionally dysfunctional body. The next generation of athletes is clearly worthy of investment. There was considerable youth who performed well at the Olympics from the relay sprinters to swimmers as well as other athletes. 

Ensuring that they have an institute that looks out for them rather than its own pockets is what’s needed. It may be a good time to leverage high-performance institutes such as those at universities. Involving former Olympians to guide the way forward will certainly help as well. 

Mckenzie believes that having more numbers represent us in four years time will be key. But emphasis must also be placed on high-performance strategies and providing the resources for the athletes to thrive. Other sporting codes can provide a blueprint for achieving these high levels. Look at how the South Africa Rugby Union overcame challenges with Covid-19 and funding to establish a team that is the best in the world. 

There is cautious optimism that these issues can be resolved and that the country can achieve its highest rank on the medal table in four years. Sports like athletics and swimming regularly deliver medals for us. These need attention as well as the lesser-known sport. Then the Olympic world can also know what we know.