turbojav
ATHLETICS: Julian Drew
Africa has never won a medal at Olympic or world championship level in the throwing events. Some theorists – no doubt from the same school of thought which once asserted African physiology was not suited to running – have claimed that this is as a result of anatomical differences.
The exploits of the Cubans, however, and discus throwers like African-American Anthony Washington and Nigeria’s United States-based Adewale Olukoju, have long since debunked that myth. Africa’s failure in these events is clearly a far simpler matter known as lack of opportunity. But that is about to change.
Next week marks the low-key start of a campaign which former javelin world-record holder Tom Petranoff believes will go a long way towards changing this state of affairs.
Following the Christmas break, Petranoff will embark on a three-month-long programme to introduce his new invention – the turbojav – into South African schools in conjunction with the United Schools Sports Association of South Africa (USSASA).
The turbojav – which took Petranoff five years to perfect – is a small plastic javelin with an aerodynamic profile which ensures that it behaves as closely as possible to a real javelin while in flight. Equally important are its safety and durability which make it ideal for the use of young children.
When the former US Olympian first came to live in South Africa in 1989 he got involved with coaching youngsters and found the javelin wasn’t an easy event to teach. “I realised there was a need for a training implement for kids that would enable them to throw, but wouldn’t be a lethal weapon when brought into the school environment,” recalls Petranoff.
Although he applied his mind to the problem and went through five different designs before the final model, Petranoff never got the turbojav off the ground until last year as he was training three or four hours a day and travelling a lot for competition.
It was only when he stopped competing at the beginning of 1995 and worked on the project full time that it began to bear fruit.
Petranoff used his various prototypes for coaching sessions at Katlehong’s schools over the past three years. When he invited USSASA officials to come and see the model last year they were struck by its potential.
“What was interesting was that the whole school got involved and all the kids were enjoying themselves. What was also impressive was that it flys like a real javelin and it doesn’t break,” remembers USSASA national director John O’Connor.
At the USSASA executive meeting in Bloemfontein last year, the turbojav was approved as an official event on the schools’ sports programme for 1997. “At most of the disadvantaged schools there were no javelins at primary school level and we have found since unity that kids from disadvantaged backgrounds have done alright in track events but not in the field events. We see the turbojav as an excellent tool to develop throwing skills. It’s also very cheap,” says O’Connor.
It is not only in South Africa that interest has been shown in the turbojav. Since manufacturing began in November, Petranoff has shipped nearly 10 000 units overseas.
It is in South Africa though that he is most excited about the possible impact of the turbojav. For every turbojav sold one rand goes into a development fund for USSASA and the same amount into a similar fund for the National Paralympic Committee of South Africa. Those are two areas that have been close to Petranoff’s heart in recent years and where his results have been evident.
His contribution to the overall success of the Amakrokakroka at the Paralympic Games is well known. The group of seven athletes coached by Petranoff brought back a total of 10 medals from Atlanta – every single one of them in the throws.
A lesser known fact is that Petranoff also has a 12-year-old girl in Katlehong who can throw the turbojav the substantial distance of 37m.
For local sport to prosper more sportsmen and women with Petranoff’s experience need to get involved in a hands’-on approach.
The fruits of Petranoff’s initiative and hard work may well be there for all to see in around eight years time – in Cape Town hopefully. Now wouldn’t that be an appropriate place to put an end to one of the more incongruous traits of Olympics history.