What great year in South African sports… 91 was the last year before all codes went international the following year. Barcelona games, cricket world cup etc etc
@201081hero
19 күн бұрын
Interesting idea having a 400 hurdler compete against 400 flat runners in the same race - never seen that before.
@southafricanathleticslate828
19 күн бұрын
It was when SA was still banned from competing internationally because of Apartheid, so the idea was to try and simulate more competitive races for the top athletes, to gauge how they might perform internationally. There were some top class athletes who could have medalled at global meets, but never competed globally, and were often unbeaten for long periods of time locally. For example, in 1990, Myrtle Bothma ran her fastest ever time of 53.65 for 400H against men (at the time the world record was 52.94). Her PB against women was 53.74. She finally got the chance ti compete at the Olympics in 1992, although she wasn't at her best anymore - she fell in the final, when she was on course for a possible medal placing
@compassionatepeercounseling
Ай бұрын
Great historical record, and I'm curious how much apartheid taints these competitions.
@southafricanathleticslate828
Ай бұрын
Most of these videos were from the depths of the Apartheid era, and you can certainly see from the ethnic make up of the competitors in most events (apart from the distance running events) that black athletes simply didn't have the same opportunities that white athletes did (especially in events requiring equipment and more technical coaching). So, yes - it's certainly a visual record that shows the inequality of the day. Even though the sport was totally integrated, strictly speaking. In the years following, SA has had black athletes competing internationally in events like the jumps, whereas during the Apartheid years there were (relatively) few athletes in these events.
@compassionatepeercounseling
Ай бұрын
@@southafricanathleticslate828 thank you for the detailed response providing more context. I was also noticing that the crowd seemed to be totally white. I was also struck by the discrepancy between the events, because in the United States, sprints and jumps are dominated by black athletes while distance events are dominated by white athletes. In your opinion, what allowed more opportunity for black athletes in the distance events, even during the extreme inequities of apartheid? Was it just less requirement for equipment and technical coaching, or is there more to it?
@southafricanathleticslate828
Ай бұрын
@@compassionatepeercounseling Yes, the crowds were predominantly white, but not exclusively. Athletics in SA in the 80's was huge (among white people) - in an average week there might be 2-3 meets televised on mainstream TV and the stadiums would be full to the brim). SA had a number of truly world class athletes, but they couldn't compete internationally until 1992. Black athletes did really well in the distance events for a few reasons, in my view. 1. Just like many Kenyans, some black athletes had developed a fantastic endurance base from an early age by running to school and back. 2. It was an easy event to compete in and train for without the need for coaching and/or technical facilities/ equipment. 3. The gold mines were very good at promoting running among their employees - they provided coaching and time off, so some of the very best distance runners in SA came from the mines (Matthews Temane comes to mind, who had a fantastic range from 1,500m to half marathon). Re your point about USA distance athletes: I think that many back people in the USA originated from West Africa, rather than East or Southern Africa, where the better distance runners (with slighter frames) have traditionally come from
@compassionatepeercounseling
Ай бұрын
@@southafricanathleticslate828 thank you again for the generous historical context and your perspective. It's like a fascinating sneak peek into a world I know very little about. As a former distance runner, I'm just starting to dig into the history of distance running as well as track and field. I saw that you were a competitive hurdler, and your first hand perspective is priceless. I was just looking up Matthews Temane after seeing him in one of your videos. The context about the gold mines is intriguing. I think you have a point regarding the location USA black athletes originated from in Africa, which makes me curious how much of an impact the transatlantic slave trade had/has on athletes and athletics in the USA and Africa, particularly West Africa. In the USA, there's very little that hasn't been touched by the transatlantic slave trade, particularly because we haven't made true amends/repair. There's so much to dig into.
@southafricanathleticslate828
Ай бұрын
@@compassionatepeercounseling A weighty topic indeed - in both USA and SA! And then there is the Zola Budd story, which I assume you know all about? If not, enjoy the wormhole of videos and googling that takes you down into!
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