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Ok, so this Olympics thing ...
From a blog written by social commentator Catherine Bower, on
the day after Wayde van Niekerk won his gold medal, and
before the medal triumphs of later competitors.
our years ago in London we all cried tears of joy and
hugged each other when our "golden boy" became the
first double amputee to participate in the able-bodied
Olympics.
Since then, our country has been put through the trauma of
having to watch the man who once carried our flag being tried
for, and convicted of, murder.
He became our OJ Simpson.
Regardless of whether you believe he did it on purpose or not,
he has tainted the impression of South Africa all across the
world.
Try as we might, it has been difficult for South Africans not to
be reminded of Oscar Pistorius at least once a week since
February 2013.
He has not been out of the news since that horrible Valentine's
Day, largely because the media, both local and international,
worked itself into a feeding frenzy around the death of a
beautiful girl at the hand of a so-called sporting legend. And
let's face it, whenever you hear about him or some new
development in his case it does not put you in a good mood.
It does not make you proud. It is sad and frustrating and
hurtful.
I am not a massive sports fan but I am a big fan of South Africa
and anything that damages our reputation upsets me.
Oscar Pistorius has upset me for three years. When the news of
the shooting first broke it upset me. When the country and
most of the world sat glued to his trial it upset me. When the
courtroom was shown images of Reeva's body it upset me.
His initial culpable homicide conviction upset me.
His early release upset me.
His appeal to the Constitutional Court upset me.
And his latest sentencing upset me.
I don't think I'm alone in this feeling of betrayal.
And every time I see pictures of June and Barry Steenkamp,
their lives forever changed by the death of their beloved
daughter, my heart bleeds for them: a peaceful, if simple,
retirement on a plot outside Port Elizabeth shattered and
turned into turmoil by this tragedy, which will cause them pain
that they will take with them to their graves.
F
So this morning when I woke up to the news of Wayde Van
Niekerk's gold medal and world record I made a conscious
decision to be done with Oscar Pistorius.
He was not the first golden boy we ever had. He will not be
the last.
I am very happy to see my newsfeed dominated today by
Wayde Van Niekerk. Let's stick with that.
Let's move on as a nation from
the pain that is Oscar Pistorius.
The legal system has run its
course and he is now in the
hands of the warders at Kgosi
Mampuru. And in place of that
let's think of these three men:
Obviously Wayde Van Niekerk.
He broke a 17 year old World
Record. He is the first South
African in 96 years to win gold
in the 400m. He's incredibly
humble and kind and I think for
the first five minutes after his
race he still hadn't quite
absorbed what had happened.
Amazing.
Then Akani Simbine. The 5th
fastest man in world behind three legends of sprinting (Bolt,
Blake and Gatlin). He is the first South African to make a 100m
final since we were readmitted into the Olympics after the
sport sanctions during apartheid.
I know if an athelete doesn't stand on a podium they tend to be
overlooked but I think he ran an excellent race and we
shouldn't forget this.
And lastly, Luvo Manyonga. A recovering tik addict. The
epitome of strength overcoming addiction and poverty to make
it to the world's biggest athletic stage and not only making it
there, but winning silver.
Add this to our swimmers, rowers and rugby 7s team and I
think we can all collectively be done with Oscar Pistorius. He is
now just another man to add another statistic to the murder
rate in this country. He can become another unnamed prisoner.
He is no longer our country's athletic hero.
We have new heroes now. And they're young, gifted, and
proudly South African. What more can you ask for?
WRITTEN BY SMALLHOLDERS, FOR SMALLHOLDERS