It truly is a great time to be South African.
Our economy is seemingly on the up thanks to Cyril Ramaphosa taking over as captain of this very difficult and temperamental ship that is South Africa.
More recently though, Team South Africa did us proud as they returned with an impressive medal haul from the Commonwealth Games in Australia. The team’s performance definitely put a smile on our faces – from Henri Schoeman in the triathlon, Tatiana Schoenmaker in the pool and Caster Semenya on the track – all of them put in stellar performances!
It was trending on social media and even led news bulletins. Such was the impact of their performances!
I mentioned the team came back with an impressive medal haul. In total they claimed 37 medals, of which 13 were gold. While not our best performance at a Commonwealth Games ever (that was in Manchester in 2002 when we brought home 46 medals) it certainly did rank among one of the most impressive.
World champion, record holder and all round nice guy Wayde van Niekerk couldn’t make the trip to the Gold Coast due to a freakish knee injury he sustained during a celebrity touch rugby match. He would’ve been a sure bet for a medal or two. You would’ve bet your house on the Blitzboks ending among the medals, but surprisingly, they could only muster 4th which would’ve been gut-wrenching for them. Then there was Anaso Jobodwana who was disqualified from running in the 200m final due to a jump-start in the semifinals.
Be that as it may, Team South Africa still managed to kick dust in the faces of their competitors and set several national and Africa records at these Games, which leads you to believe that there’s something special brewing here. When Olympics 2020 comes around, you best believe Team South Africa will feature prominently on the medal table, and THAT is a beautiful thing!
