As South Africans become excited and enthralled by all that our Springboks rugby team has been delivering and achieving over the past seven years and two World Cup tournaments, we equally applaud the various teams that are making their presence felt around the globe.
The discipline is not the be-all.
Success has come from hockey and most recently soccer, cricket among men and women, swimming, track and field and much more.
For those of us who have played numerous sports, but settled on road running and marathon running in particular, as our primary activity, we enjoyed the most special moment in 1996 at the Atlanta Centennial Summer Olympics.
After two weeks of competition across the various sports, Sunday, August 4, was the final day of the Games and only the men’s marathon, in the morning, and the closing ceremony that evening were left.
Emotions ran high for those of us who truly believed South Africa had a real chance. We were few in numbers, but strong of resolve.
The “road” to that day was a long but magnificent one.
Like the rugby team, the sport had to develop into a truly national one, and given the progressive leadership of the bulk of the South African Road Running Association (SARRA), we were able to do so sooner than cricket, rugby, swimming, hockey, tennis and most leading sports, simply because change began long before other sports.
Black and white had been running together for years, not to suggest that it was all perfect; it was not, and much had to be worked on at every level, every week of every month.
The provinces of Natal and Border were particularly progressive and selected one and two black runners respectively to their teams for a provincial race. The South African Amateur Athletic Union had to give permission, though the race would have gone ahead regardless.
Border’s two men, Edwin Lwana and Sindile Tshaka, are both happily still alive, and others joined the change in the years that followed.
Thus the first Inter-Provincial Marathon was launched in East London in 1977.
When SARRA launched the Ohllson’s Lager SA Championship Series over distances of 10, 15, 21,1 and the 42,2km standard marathon, the sport took off, leaving many others behind, probably because it fitted on outdoor roads as opposed to confined spaces, where apartheid could be used to stifle progress
That is not to say it was plain sailing given the political climate of the 1970s and 80s and a country in turmoil. There was much argument, squabbling and more, while it was of course still politically volatile.
However, as change arrived, a number of the road running fraternity became active in encouraging the breaking down of racism.
By joining the National Sport Congress and going to that organisation’s launch at Wits University, where the likes of former Springbok captain Tommy Bedford and many other sport leaders were present, the country began to focus.
In athletics, various strong and honest characters emerged and Athletics South Africa was born.
On the one hand, folk from the old predominantly white structures and other determined people, who were strong and committed to non-racial sport.
All this impacted the build-up towards the selection process of the SA Olympic team to the Atlanta Olympic Games of 1996.
The Centennial Games were the land’s first proper Olympics with a new flag, new anthem and inclusive of all its people.
When it came to athletics and the only road running component thereof being the women’s and men’s marathon, it was all systems go from the outset.
The ASA Road Running Commission road running selectors chose the team they felt was best suited to the event, which “had to be approved” by the Athletics South Africa (ASA) Board and the National Olympic Committee (NOCSA).
The teams were announced after the SA Marathon Championships on a blustery Cape Town course in February 1996.
Gert Thys was the SA record holder with a 2:06 set in Japan, Xolile Yawa also had fast marathon times both in Japan and London, while Lawrence Peu ran a 2:11 at the Paris Marathon.
Thugwane’s Cape Town time was 2:12.
The road running selectors had far more insight into the runners than the other bodies, with three of the selectors, Laraine Lane, Keith Temmers, the scribe and one other less experienced member.
Three of them had travelled with teams as managers and got to know and understand the athletes.
Indeed, they were determined to do so.
The team announced at the Old Mutual Cape Town Marathon prize-giving was Yawa, Thys and Thugwane, with Peu as travelling reserve. This caused some unhappiness with Peu’s agent, who did not understand the selection process and that of Thugwane.
He had been selected due to his outstanding performance in finishing fifth at the 1995 World Half Marathon Championships in France, and he also won the Honolulu Marathon on a tough course in extremely humid conditions, similar to what was expected that Atlanta would deliver.
Temmers was on hand in a managerial role to witness the race.
Peu, a former SA Half Marathon junior champion, ran the Paris Marathon in cool conditions on a dead flat course.
Some members of the athletic fraternity attempted to block the choice of Thugwane.
They did the same with the marathon team manager announced at the same time. They had motives best known to themselves.
Lane intervened, with the support of others and despite the alternate choice having been surreptitiously announced in a local running magazine, it was later overruled.
Only Elana Meyer was chosen for the women’s marathon.
Unfortunately, Coleen de Reuck had not met the qualifying time, though she had run numerous marathons in better qualifying times.
Sadly, Meyer arrived late in Atlanta and suffered a stress fracture during the race.
If the selectors had their way, both De Reuck and Meyer would have raced.
De Reuck ran the 10000m instead and did well, but did not medal in what was not her best event.
Rubbing salt in the wounds of the running hierarchy, who would have selected her regardless, she won the Berlin Marathon in a personal best time, just short of two months later.
A gold medal forfeited perhaps?
Thugwane was single-minded in his training at the altitude of Albuquerque, receiving much motivation from Yawa, who sadly was injured mere weeks ahead of the marathon and chose to return home to South Africa.
The affable Peu moved into the team, and they all travelled down to Atlanta for the opening ceremony upon the insistence of the team manager, who felt the ceremony would be extremely motivating for runners who had been out of the team vibe for over two months.
They returned to their altitude camp after the ceremony.
Ten days later, they were back in Atlanta just three days before the marathon.
At a pre-race media conference, a member of the South African contingent asked the SA manager who he believed was best prepared to deliver a medal.
He replied that “any one of the three most certainly could, but I think the mindset of Thugwane may well tip the scales in his favour, along with his success at other tough marathons.”
The media man was perplexed and protested, to which the manager chose to stick to his opinion, though confirming he and the entire team would be happy with any South African win.
On the morning of the race, the three South Africans warmed up together. Thugwane had requested a bread roll from the McDonald’s outlet in the village, which he duly received.
The race started, and the strong field was close, with all three South Africans well placed. Later on in the race, the three in fact led the race, shoulder to shoulder.
It was intense for the support crew who were not permitted onto the route and were in the stadium following on the huge television screen.
.... any one of the three most certainly could, but I think the mindset of Thugwane may well tip the scales in his favour, along with his success at other tough marathons
— SA's 1996 marathon team manager Bob Norris
Drinks had been prepared and delivered the day before, identified by one green, one red and one black drinking bottle at each station so that each runner had their own chosen drink.
Thugwane cautiously moved ahead, and eventually it was he, Kim Bong Ju of South Korea and Erick Wainaina of Kenya making up the lead three.
At 35km and thus with a shade over seven to go, Thugwane made a break. Bong Ju followed as did the fancied Kenyan, but Thugwane was not going to submit.
As they approached the stadium, Thugwane was close to 15m ahead.
He entered as such with the clock on 2:10:55 and the crowd rose to the occasion of a possible first-ever South African win. The country had only managed one track and field silver medal from Hezekiel Sepeng in the 800m, and the marathon had been written off by the naysayers.
Penny Heyns had won two gold medals in the swimming pool, in the 100 and 200m breaststroke, while Marianne Kriel took bronze in the 100m backstroke.
Thugwane held firm, and despite the closest marathon finish in Olympic history, he won in 2:12:35 and took the gold medal.
Peu stuck to the mission of the team and finished in 2:18:19 with Thys following in 2:18:55. Thus, a clean sweep of finishes.
Celebrations continued late into the night for a very happy Team South Africa in its entirety.
Some believed that was the end of Thugwane; however, it was anything but.
In 1997 he won the Fukuoka Marathon in Japan and was in London the same year with a third place.
In 1998, Thugwane won the Great North Half Marathon, the largest event in the UK, and he claimed second at the Great Scottish Run.
And so the results kept rolling in with another Japanese marathon podium for second, at Nagano.
Back home, he won the Two Oceans half in 2002, and at the 56km he finished second in 2007.
He is now retired and a little disillusioned at the lack of support from authorities for development initiatives he planned and invested in.
Thys is in a similar situation, while Peu is the only one not tracked down and spoken to.
Yawa is still economically involved, but after years of involvement is totally retired from athletics.
The incredible possibilities available in the marathon team were perhaps not adequately followed up on, and the result is that no other marathon gold medals have been forthcoming.
In fact, not even close.
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