Julian Drew : Athletics
The South African cross country championships take place in Amanzimtoti on Saturday looking every bit like the national championships of a sport in crisis. For a country that possesses so much latent talent in middle- and long- distance running, South Africas performance at this years world cross country championships in Turin was appalling.
To further emphasise the problem South Africa had only one athlete in the mens distance events from 1 500m up to 10 000m at the world athletics championships in Athens last month.
Even then Hendrick Ramaala nearly succumbed to Athletics South Africas ludicrous requirements for this sector of the sport because he tried to compete in both cross country and track like his international counterparts.
That he eventually qualified in Europe was only because he is intelligent enough to know what he should do on his own and does not have to rely on ASA or a coach for assistance.
South Africa has long produced world-class performers in track and field courtesy of the position the sport holds in the Afrikaans school system where it is the summer sport which complements rugby in winter.
Some incredible black talent also managed to shine through in the past despite the neglect of athletics in the black community. That was due to their natural distance running ability which saw athletes like Humphrey Khosi, Sydney Maree, Matthews Batswadi, Matthews Motshwarateu, Matthews Temane, Mark Plaatjes and Zithulele Sinqe rise to the top.
Even since the sport opened up, athletes like Hezekiel Sepeng and Josiah Thugwane have become world beaters, but they have come from outside the much-touted development programme ASA painstakingly points to every time a South African athlete achieves a performance of note.
Five-and-a-half years down the line from unity at ASA when the focus turned on those who were previously denied access to the sport, there is still no sign of a coherent strategy to encourage our middle distance talent, let alone the fruit which such a strategy should bear. Nowhere is this dearth of initiative more apparent than in cross country.
The simplest sport of all to organise in the rural areas and townships, it is the foundation stone of any career on the track, both of which provide the perfect stepping stone to success on the road in later years. Most of the great marathon runners have followed this well-worn trail but despite its proven success ASA have applied little thought to establishing a system which will ensure there are more Josiah Thugwanes in the future.
While it is encouraging that a large slice of Absa banks recent R44-million sponsorship will be ploughed into cross country, unless the correct structures and systems are in place it will be money down the drain.
At an elite level the biggest hurdle both cross country and track and field face in South Africa is the disparity between the northern and southern hemisphere seasons. Unfortunately nobody at ASA appears able to conceptualise what is needed to address this problem.
There are people in the country who have the required insight but they have been crushed by the politics in athletics and are now on the outside looking in. But even if this crucial problem is resolved there is still a long way to go before we begin to bridge the gap between local standards and those which now win medals on the world stage.
In fact if the truth be known local standards have regressed in recent years.
Not all is doom and gloom, however, and ASA has at least started on a path which could drag the sport back onto its feet.
With the appointment earlier this year of Richard Stander as development officer the first person in the five-year history of the post to have a sound technical understanding of the sport things are moving in the right direction.
National event coaches have been appointed and a national talent identification programme will begin in October.
But it is what eventually happens to the talent which emerges that will determine the success of the programme and in the case of middle- distance running in particular this will require far more input and support from ASA than in the past. Most countries who are currently doing well in the middle and long distances Spain, Portugal and Morocco being the most obvious examples have sophisticated support systems for their elite athletes which South Africa must match if it hopes to catch up.
When directing scarce resources into development it makes sense to focus on known strengths. The established Afrikaans schools and universities still require assistance if they are going to continue turning out more Llewellyn Herberts and Marius Corbetts, but in terms of bringing the majority of the population into athletics, and particularly people in the rural areas, then it is cross country rather than track and field where resources should be applied.
Petrus Boukes, president of Eastern Province Athletics and chair of its cross country commission, has already shown that cross country is the ideal vehicle to bring rural communities into athletics. Five years ago cross country league meetings were attracting 40 or 50 athletes in the province. After bringing their own sponsors on board they have built up cross country so that this season in KwaZakhele there were 1 281 athletes with many coming from rural areas.
Last years 50-strong provincial primary school team had just one athlete from Port Elizabeth, the main urban centre in the region. That is real development which has succeeded in identifying athletes with talent who can now be channeled into other aspects of the sport like track and field.
As South Africas top senior athletes do battle for their national title this weekend they can only hope that when 1998 dawns ASA has a plan in place which will allow them to focus on cross country until the world championships in March.
Only then must they focus on the track where their preparation must be thorough if they are going to last until the Commonwealth Games in September.
The mens title should go to John Morapedi South Africas most talented middle- distance runner who was running on the road in America during the Athens world championships because he lacks focus and discipline.
His main opposition will come from his Correctional Services team- mates with Simon Morolong and Patrick Kaotsane the most likely candidates to usurp him.
Ramaala is racing on the road in England in preparation for the world half marathon championships which he will contest, one cant help but believe, more because ASA wants him to than because it fits in with his plans.
The womens race is wide open in the absence of Zola Pieterse and it will be interesting to see if junior Rene Kalmer can get the better of Olympian Gwen Griffiths.