Zareena has covered a lot of ground from the Olympics; here is a round-up of the sporting action she has seen in the last five days, including track and field events, golf and climbing.
Paris, France (06 August 2024) – Into the final week of the Olympics, and things are getting silly now. I went to watch the Women’s Gymnastics Vault Final and saw Octavia Spencer there. I had to stop myself from going to chat with her because, apparently, I am now at that stage where I just think notable people will talk to me because people I have watched on TV have been talking to me. But now I need to remember that just because they are normal people, which they are, who happen to be amongst the best in the world, which they are, doesn’t mean they want to talk to me. Rather, they talk to me because it’s their job.
Athletics Highlights
Kyle Blignaut’s Determination
Kyle Blignaut, who was 3cm off finals qualification, was gutted. He was preparing to honour his coach who died last year but was denied a spot by one of his training partners. Kyle assured me that he plans on coming back to win the whole thing. I’ve marked my calendar, Kyle. I may even set up a Google alert.
The Crazy Kick in the 10,000m Race
That kick they talk about in the 10,000m track race is crazy. When you watch it on TV, the camera moves with the race, but if you are stationary and just see the race, it’s incredible how fast they run most of the race and then how quickly they finish. I know this one was. With the top 13 all breaking the previous record, it was a brisk race.
Adriaan Wildschutt of South Africa came in 10th with a National Record/Personal Best in his uniquely tailored kit since, according to him, he is too small for regular kit. He also thinks that he is getting better, and now having completed his MBA and focusing solely on his running, he has some untapped pace.
Prudence Sekgodiso’s Journey
Prudence Sekgodiso has been a delight during both her heats and semi-finals. For the former, she wasn’t too happy with her race, but the latter had her both bouncing and bleeding as she qualified for the world champs. She came eighth in the final and wasn’t quite sure what to say but knows for a fact that she has learnt so much from this and will go back to work with her coach and prepare for what’s next.
Akani Simbine’s Record-Breaking Performance
Then I did a thing that many journalists actually do: I only got to Akani Simbine after the final. I missed his heat and, due to the quick turnaround time, the athletes don’t normally do media after the semi if they are racing again that night. But the man is magnificent. He got a National Record/Personal Best time of 9.82 seconds and is once again the 4th fastest 100m male runner in the world, only by 0.01 seconds. Would he have liked a medal? Sure, but that is the fastest he or anyone else in the country has ever run. Now he needs to focus on the relay, where he wouldn’t quite share who is running but assured us nonetheless that he is not done with the Olympics yet. He is still getting faster and is looking towards LA 2028.
Men’s 200m Semifinalists
In the men’s 200m, South Africa has two semifinalists: Wayde van Niekerk and Shaun Maswanganyi. Shaun had the misfortune of watching Benjamin Richardson, South Africa’s third 200m sprinter, pull up with cramp. Despite this, he finished his heat in 58 seconds, so technically, he is through to the repechage should he be up and running by then. This is also a concern for the 4x100m relay team. Wayde, who left us with a “much love” that I didn’t quite know what to make of, says he is focusing on the 4x400m relay. I am giving an outside chance to Cheswill Johnson, the long jumper, for a relay call-up should it be necessary. I’m not entirely sure that’s a viable swap, and you never want anyone’s dream ended by injury, but maybe, just maybe, it’s an option.
Golf Insights
Golf requires a lot of walking and knowing when to be quiet, apparently. If you are only following golf because it is in the Olympics, Christiaan Bezuidenhout would like you to know that anyone can play. Because of the handicap, you can be competitive with even the best, so you shouldn’t be shy.
Climbing Mishap
Then I tried going to Climbing, but since it seems that every app around has decided that I need to go into the centre of Paris to get back to the outskirts, I missed it. So all I can really confirm is that speed climbing is really speedy. Sorry folks.
Random Things I Have Learnt:
- Apparently, “breakfast provided” means a coffee and a croissant.
- Track athletes don’t wear socks.
- You miss so much of the Olympics when you are at the Olympics since you, or at least I, focus on what is in front of me, and then the rest of the games go by.
- Mesh side panels are not great on tops but really odd on running tights not sure if it helped Joseph Fahnbulleh from Liberia with his aerodynamics but you do you.
- You can learn a lot from the couch. There is something special about watching it live, but all those moments staring at screens over the years have meant that I probably know more than I have given myself credit for.
- Some of the lines for the field events are actually there (normally two finite distances to aim for), while some are digitally added (those that are changeable, like Olympic and world records).
- When things move on the track, it’s normally a human that does that. For example, the hurdles are placed by people, all aligned according to the track markings.
- The lights at the top of the stadium, as well as the light bands worn by some of the crowd, flash the national colours of the respective athletes as they are called out for the big finals (men’s and women’s 100m) or win a medal. It’s quite cool!
Zareena Gaibee will be on the ground in Paris for the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics events, sharing her take on the prestigious sporting event, giving exclusive insights into life at the games, and hopefully meeting many of the South Africans in Paris who are competing and supporting. She will be reporting her findings for Good Things Guy, giving readers a glimpse of what flying the flag in Paris is all about.
You can follow her series via Good Things Guy here.
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Sources: Zareena Gaibee
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Track and track.
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