The South African Olympic team left for Athens on Tuesday night.
Speaking at a briefing at Johannesburg International airport, the team’s chef de mission, Hajera Kajee, said: ”Years of preparation, determination and hard work will culminate in a spectacular show of speed, strength and agility.
”We are ready. I am proud to lead such a team of talented athletes who want to live the Olympic dream. To the nation we say, this is your team. We need your support.”
Only 81 of the 160 athletes attended the briefing, the rest having checked in on Monday. Dressed in their green-and-gold track suits and having said goodbye to their families earlier, they appeared calm and undaunted by the challenge ahead.
The athletes boarded flight SA2004 at 8pm. It was to be a ”dry flight” because, as National Olympic Committee of South Africa president Sam Ramsamy pointed out: ”Certain athletes don’t know the difference between a Coke and a brandy.”
When asked to speculate on how many medals he is expecting the team to win, Ramsamy replied: ”We have that locked in our heads and we won’t crack them open. It’s all about medals. Competition is about winning and we are all going to try and win.
”We are confident that the team will come back having done very well. We are looking for improvements on Atlanta and Sydney and we hope this will translate into medals.”
South Africa brought home three gold medals from the Atlanta Games and none from the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Human-rights lawyer George Bizos will also be accompanying the team. As Ramsamy pointed out, Bizos — who was born in Greece — will be able to teach the athletes a bit of Greek on the flight. He is the team’s honorary legal adviser.
Zandre Labuschagne will represent South Africa in artistic gymnastics. This will be the first Olympic Games for the young woman from Klerksdorp.
”I’m really excited to be going. It’s not something that happens to everyone. My family are really proud and probably more nervous than I am,” she said.
The opening ceremony takes place on Friday August 13. — Sapa