OPINION: Olympic codes in SA need an overhaul, or the exodus won’t stop with Tatjana Smith
· Citizen
Olympic sports in South Africa need an overhaul and a fresh approach, or the ongoing exodus will continue.
Four-time Olympic medallist Tatjana Smith announced on Tuesday that she was switching allegiance to the Netherlands after returning from retirement. And she’s not alone.
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Former short-course swimming world champion Matthew Sates reportedly wants to compete for Australia, and rising sprint star Benjamin Richardson is waiting to be cleared to represent Ireland on the track.
Even outside competition, two-time Olympic champion Caster Semenya said this week she wanted nothing to do with any sports federations.
It is clear that both current and retired swimmers and athletes are growing tired of the various issues facing South Africa’s two most successful Olympic codes.
Leadership in hot water
At the highest level of these sports, including mother body Sascoc, the leadership is floundering.
Swimming South Africa (SSA) president Alan Fritz and CEO Shaun Adriaanse were provisionally suspended in August, Sascoc president Barry Hendricks was suspended in September, and Athletics South Africa (ASA) president James Moloi was sacked last month, while vice-president John Mathane is also in hot water.
Perhaps the action being taken against individuals for various reasons is a good sign that these sports are attempting to clean things up, but a new approach is also required to ensure athletes and swimmers receive the support they need.
Lack of funding
The biggest problem right now is a lack of funding, which has become such a serious issue that the national junior athletics team had to fund themselves to get to the World Athletics U20 Championships in Eugene in August, and now the national swimming team must fund themselves to attend the World Short Course Championships in Beijing next month.
Federations need to take responsibility and start finding sponsors, but government must also take some blame.
Rather than spending money on things like a trip to the Fifa World Cup, a LIV Golf tournament, an attempt to host a Formula 1 Grand Prix, and potential bids for future Olympic Games, we need to ensure first that our sport stars are receiving the backing they require.
Smith and Richardson are gone. Sates is on his way too. If these problems are not fixed, more will follow.