Gavin Foster
It’s hard to believe that all the fuss about the “millennium bug” took place a full year ago. But a year can be an age in sport.
Sharks and Springbok winger Deon Kayser hasn’t been really thrilled this year. “I broke my jaw in the World Cup semifinal against Australia last year, and that put me out of the first half of the Super 12. Then, in the second match of my comeback a friendly in preparation for the Super 12 I took another bump on the jaw that put me out for a further six weeks. The lowest point came when I pulled a hamstring in the second Currie Cup game against the Falcons which kept me away from rugby for about another month.”
Kayser spent the best part of the year working at getting back into the Bok squad for the end-of-year tour. “I had a reasonable tour with the midweek team and am now injury free so things look better. Next year I plan to get back my World Cup form. Hopefully our game plan will allow me to get more ball so I can prove myself.”
If Kayser had a bad year the same can’t be said for swimming sensation Terence Parkin. “I did well in the World Cup leg in Sheffield and in Germany at the beginning of the year, and I worked hard for the Olympics which obviously paid off.”
Was there any disappointment at getting silver and not gold in Sydney? Not at all the 20-year-old Durbanite wasn’t expecting a medal at all. “I didn’t do as well as I’d hoped to at an Australian national event in Melbourne that I used as a warm-up just before Sydney. I was disappointed with my times and began to worry about my chances in the Games.”
What about next year is there any room for improvement? “There always is, but at this level you have to look at any changes very carefully. I’m sure my coach Graham Hill will study the possibilities and work things out with me.”
Next year sees a clash between the World Deaf Games in Rome and the World Short Course Championships in Hong Kong, both in June. Parkin broke five world records at the last deaf games, and will probably miss the Hong Kong event to go to Rome because he wants to motivate other deaf swimmers, who are a tight-knit group. “We’re like family and I’d like to be there,” he says. With six or seven years of competition at the top ahead of him there’s still lots of time to go for the bigger prizes.
Having twice failed in his quest for a record fourth world title, Baby Jake Matlala doesn’t consider 2000 as one of his better years. The pint-sized triple world champion feels that despite this he can still reach his goal. “I lost two important fights [against Hawk Makepula and Peter Culshaw],” he says. “My performance was good but I think I was unlucky I’d done enough to win both but the judges didn’t see it that way. Next year I’ll have to be aggressive. I’ll go in for the kill from the first round I don’t have to show everybody what a good boxer I am any more, so I’ll go for the result and finish the fight as soon as I can. I want that fourth belt. ” At 39, Matlala knows that time is running out. “I want to win the title and defend it twice, and then at the end of the year I’ll throw in the towel.”
Siyabonga Nomvete isn’t complaining. The 23-year-old Kaizer Chiefs and Bafana Bafana striker’s career has hardly kicked off and already he’s up among the stars. “I had an exceptional year,” he says, “and I’m thankful for that.”
Having been voted just about everybody’s player of the year he’d be a fool to complain. Did he experience any bad moments? “Possibly not qualifying for the knockout stages of the Olympics,” he says.
“On a personal level, I’m sorry about not getting to Europe. We worked hard on that but it didn’t happen. But if I had 2000 again I don’t think I would do everything differently. It was a dream year, largely due to the support I received from my team-mates and the coaches I was involved with at every level.”
So what’s next? “My most pressing goal is still to get to Europe,” he says. “There are a number of teams interested in my services, especially Crystal Palace in England and Borussia Moenchengladbach in Germany. One way or another I’ll be in Europe.”
Does that mean he’ll be lost to his South African fans? “Well, I hope that some of my European games will be televised here. I also hope to remain a regular player in our national team and in that way represent South Africa in front of the people who have given me so much support.”
We’ll leave the last word to Minister of Sport and Recreation Ngconde
Balfour, who, at the end of his first full year in office, believes 2000 was a good year for South African sport despite a few hiccups. “It was hectic but eventful. I’ll leave the rating of my performance to our president, who appointed me to this position; to our clients, who are the national federations; and to our macro sport bodies as well as to the broader public.”