Michael Finch All Africa Games
When South Africa named more than 400 athletes to represent it at the seventh All Africa Games, it was expected that the host nation would easily defend the overall title they won in Harare in 1995.
But perceptions can be horribly wrong and despite a feast of silverware in the swimming events, South Africa have had a hard time keeping up with Nigeria and Egypt on the overall medal count over the last seven days.
The final result will only be known after the games end on Sunday night, but whoever wins, the margin will still be narrow. On the face of it, who cares?
The continental championships have attracted some of the world’s best but generally the focus of the games has been on developing potential, and allowing those not capable of making it to World Championships and Olympics a chance of competing at a major international event.
Surely South Africa can’t be too worried about not winning the overall title? In the grand scheme of things, becoming the continental sporting champions doesn’t mean much.
Not so, says South African team chef de mission Gideon Sam.
“It’s very important. Can you imagine if we ended third behind Nigeria and Egypt. People will say you can’t make it internationally and now you can’t even make it on the continent,” a worried Sam rants.
“It will have a negative bearing on the way sponsors put money into sport. At the moment they are really going out of their way and putting really big money into sport, but that could change.”
So important is winning the overall title to Sam that he told the various team managers of the 20 sports this week that winning medals was now a priority as Nigeria and Egypt threatened to streak away.
“I told them to get out there and psyche up their charges,” Sam said. “When I talked to the swimmers I made it clear to them that they can’t afford to make any mistakes and they need to take everything.”
The swimmers, to be fair, have done their fair share, winning virtually every gold medal on offer. But as Nigeria’s women’s weightlifters picked up a full complement of 21 medals, and Egypt a healthy share of the men’s weightlifting and the gymnastics contests, it wasn’t enough to assure South Africa of the daily lead.
“We knew that we would have a tough one from Egypt. But we didn’t look over our shoulder for Nigeria,” Sam says. “I was very surprised by Nigeria. They’re very organised and they’ve got their act together.”
Sam admits that perhaps South Africa’s biggest mistake was that the team was selected without any clear strategy.
“Many people have been saying that,” he says.
Sam also pinpoints sports the federations for some of the blame. Already this week codes like the soccer team have created untold problems for the team management in their pay-for-play row, while other codes, like judo, have not lived up to expectations.
“There needs to be much more accountability from the federations,” Sam says. “I think a lot of things are taken for granted.
“A lot of federations keep on saying that they cannot make progress because they don’t get any money. I’m not sure that’s fair.”
For Sam, the establishment of the new controlling body for sport in South Africa, the Sports Commission, on October 1 inspires hopes that the streamlined approach will get to the heart of developing sport.
“I just hope that they can get on with the job now,” he says.
In a broader context, the needs of South Africa’s sportsmen and women is low down on the list of priorities facing South Africa’s democracy. The Department of Sport is the least funded off all government departments, and for many sport is little more than a healthy pastime.
But Sam believes there’s more to it than that.
“Yes, sure they’re are more pressing problems like hospitals, education and health,” he says. “But at the same time, I look around here in the athletes village and observe what is happening.
“Friendships are being made. People walk and talk together and everybody is playing by the same rules. It’s nation building.
“Even if you look at the fans who watch the athletics. It’s great to see little black kids recognizing their heroes like Marcus la Grange and cheering for them. It’s a country effort.”
With only three days of the games ahead, it’s going to be down to the wire for the hosts just as it was in Harare, when South Africa beat Egypt by just two gold medals and one overall.
Today the swimming events conclude, while athletics still has two more days to go.
The only certainties, from a South African perspective, lie in the cycling events – today’s time trial and Sunday’s 160km road race.
For the rest, it’s going to be a bun fight.