There were ”shortcomings” in the way South Africa prepared its athletes for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, government spokesperson Themba Maseko said on Thursday.
”There appear to be some shortcomings in the way we are preparing athletes for the Olympic Games,” Maseko told reporters in Pretoria after a Cabinet meeting.
Despite South African athletes breaking Africa records, it was clear they were ”not good enough” when compared with their international counterparts.
Cabinet resolved that Sport and Recreation Minister Makhenkesi Stofile submit a report on the team’s performance ”as soon as soon as proper analysis had been conducted”.
The South African team managed to bring home only one medal. Some of the possible shortcomings were training methods and capacity at school level.
On whether Stofile had a ”hard time” as a result of the athletes’ performance, Maseko said: ”The matter was discussed. As you are aware, the minister is not an Olympian so there was no need to give him a hard time.
”The issue is that the Department of Sport [and Recreation] needs to work with sports authorities to identify weaknesses in our athletics programmes, be it training, be it support, be it the need to beef up sports programmes in schools. The minister was definitely not given a hard time,” said Maseko.
Cabinet also wished Team South Africa well, which is participating in the Paralympic Games that begin on the weekend.
”We call on all South Africans to support Team South Africa throughout the Games,” he said. — Sapa