These are boom and bust times in world athletics.

The Russians are in an unholy mess, Rio Olympics organisers are quietly hopeful and South Africa is experiencing a golden age.

Not since the late 1980s, when local athletics drew big crowds and the action would be broadcast live on national television from Pilditch, Herman Immelman Stadium and elsewhere, has the sport been in such rude health.

The reality was driven home again last week, on Nelson Mandela Day appropriately enough, when Akani Simbine crashed through the 9.90sec mark to record a staggering 9.89sec SA record on a faraway track in Budapest. Among those left in his vapour trails were sprint grandees Kim Collins and Asafa Powell.

On the same day, Simbine also nailed a personal best in the 200m, clocking 20.16sec.

Elsewhere, Wayde van Niekerk and Caster Semenya were also tearing up international tracks to reaffirm the country’s ambitions.

It’s Simbine’s misfortune that he will have to play second fiddle to the fastest sprinter of all time, but, equally, Usain Bolt has demonstrated how to go about smashing barriers. His jaw-dropping 9.58sec world record in Berlin in 2009 shows that almost anything is possible. Everyone has had to up their game.

Simbine’s run was a great indicator of form with the Olympics now just 10 days away. Only four men have run faster this year: former doping fiend Justin Gatlin (9.80), Trayvon Bromell (9.84), Jimmy Vicaut (9.86) and Bolt (9.88).

Incidentally, SA teammate Henricho Bruintjies also has a 9.89 to his credit, but that was wind-assisted. By way of comparison, Namibia’s Frankie Fredericks produced a blitsvinnig 9.86 exactly 20 years ago.

Simbine is now in esteemed company, although he will surely have to go even faster if he’s to have a sniff in Rio. The blue Mondo track that has been laid at the Olympic Stadium is jet-fast and Sebastian Coe himself has predicted that records will fall.

One record certain to go is the Brazilian allcomers’ record, a relatively pedestrian 10.05sec set by Dwain Chambers, another doper, five years ago.

If Bolt’s luminous 9.58sec looks out of reach – the Jamaican himself is nowhere near that sort of form – Simbine will likely have to lower his own mark to be in the mix.

Assuming he gets through the qualifiers, he may have to run a sub-9.80 to trouble the medals table. Indeed, his run this week would have placed him sixth had he produced that time in London four years ago.

One thing Simbine won’t be in Rio is gun shy. He has raced against all the superstars, Bolt among them, and never been intimidated. He looks comfortable in their company.

He will also be among the smallest sprinters. Of the big names, only Bromell is shorter – 1,7m to the South African’s 1,76m.

Bolt is seriously tall (1,85m) and around 10kg heavier (94kg) than his competition on average. Gatlin weighs 83kg, Powell 87kg, Tyson Gay 75kg and Simbine 71kg.

Bolt’s dimensions have confounded sports scientists. He shouldn’t be able to accelerate at the speed he does given the length of his legs. Convention dictates that sprinters take short steps at the beginning in order to accelerate, but Bolt can’t do that because he’s exceptionally tall. Indeed, he’s not known as the best or fastest starter. Yet when he reaches top speed he has a massive advantage because he’s taking fewer steps.

Not forgetting his strides are about 2,44m — 20cm longer on average than the other top sprinters.

Simbine is conversely most effective at the start where shorter, more powerful legs put him in his best position in the earlier, acceleration stage. Despite this, he was able to reel in the 1,90m Powell during the final 25m of the sprint in Hungary.

Simbine is locally based, at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria, but his big times prove the value of mixing in top international company. He would not have pulled out such a big time in SA because the talent pool is far more shallow.

Despite the virtues of all the other disciplines, there’s no race quite as thrilling as the 100m. Speed combines with explosiveness and swagger and we’re all left breathless by the cocktail.

Simbine has earned his place at the top table. Here’s hoping he feasts. – © Sunday Tribune

 

 

 

 

If it moves, SuperSport will be there for every angle of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro with no fewer than seven 24-hour channels being broadcast.

With 306 medal sets available, SuperSport will broadcast live every gold-medal event, ensuring unprecedented coverage of the sport spectacle that begins on August 5. There will be more than 2500 hours of the Olympics broadcast over 15 days.

The four channels used for the 2012 London Olympics – SS4, SS5, SS6, SS7 – plus three additional channels – SS12, SS13 and SS14 – will be dedicated to the Rio Games, while other channels like SS1 and SS3 will, where available, carry overflow content, chiefly Sevens rugby, golf and soccer.
SS12 will be a dedicated 24-hour Olympic news channel which will be produced by the International Olympic Committee.

SuperSport will also have roving reporters in Rio with Crystal Arnold, Carol Tshabalala, James Wokabi and Rui de Oliveira (Portuguese) reporting directly from various venues and the team village. Former Olympic champion Ryk Neethling will be poolside providing insights on the exploits of Chad Le Clos, Michael Phelps, Cameron van der Burgh, Kirsty Coventry and others.

In addition, the Blitz channel will broadcast regular updates and direct viewers to the big events of the day.

Eighty staff will be involved in producing the live broadcasts out of SuperSport HQ in Johannesburg with another 20 involved in production at the International Broadcast Centre in Rio.

Multiple live feeds will be made available to SuperSport, which will then “cherry pick” the best content, much of it with a Pan-African leaning, for the Olympic channels.

Given that many of the major events will take place in the very early mornings – SA is five hours ahead of Brazil – video-on-demand will be a major component of SuperSport’s Olympic coverage. Extensive event highlights will be available via the DStv Catch Up service, which will include every gold medal-winning performance.

Highlights packages will also be broadcast throughout the day, ensuring viewers don’t miss any major action.

Every possible viewing platform will be accommodated, including live streaming via www.supersport.com and the SuperSport and DStv Now apps, as well as social platforms and DStv Catch Up.

OLYMPIC SPORT CHANNELS
SS4         Opening ceremony, swimming, athletics, marathon, walk, closing ceremony.
SS5         Hockey, handball, volleyball (beach and indoors), gymnastics, trampoline.
SS6         Tennis, basketball, four cycling disciplines, table tennis, badminton.
SS7         Boxing, weight lifting, judo.
SS12       Olympic News Channel.
SS13       Watersport: rowing, diving, etc.
SS14       Fencing, modern pentathlon, equestrian.
————————————————————————————————————————–SS12, SS13 and SS14 (channels 212, 213 and 214) will be available in all territories.
—————————————————————————————————————————
SS1         Golf, Sevens rugby (when not clashing with live non-Olympic sport).
SS3         Football (when not clashing with live non-Olympic sport).

* The above is a guide and subject to change.

SuperSport will also broadcast the Paralympic Games from September 7-18. There will be two dedicated 24-hour channels: SS13 and SS14.

Anyone with even a remote interest in the business of sport would have been swayed by three very different international developments this week.

The most significant deal occurred in America where UFC, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, was bought for a staggering US $4-bn. Even if you threw together all the major properties of South African sport, their net worth wouldn’t come close to matching that figure (R57-bn).

What is impressive is that 15 short years ago the UFC business was picked up for a piddly $2-m. Back then, Mixed Martial Arts operated on the margins where low blows and head butts were di rigueur. Blood was its currency.

The organisation’s first event in Colorado drew just 2800 spectators.

Senator John McCain was unimpressed, labelling it “human cock-fighting”.

The early pioneers then got to work. They addressed safety concerns and they refined the rules. Stars were created and the “cage fighting” name was ditched. MMA cleaned itself up. No-one could have forecast how the UFC would explode.

I don’t buy the hype that the sport is now mainstream, but it is rapidly growing and stars like Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor are more familiar to everyday people.

The new deal is more than just an investment for a group of cash-heavy backers; it’s an endorsement of a sport that has captured the imagination of millennials and others. This move will be a game-changer, taking the sport to new territories and breaking into the public consciousness.

It wasn’t the only major move in the sports world in recent days. The news that seven Australian Big Bash cricket matches would be broadcast live in the US next season barely made a ripple, but it’s a big, bold step for a game desperate to crack the US market.

The NBC Sports Network is available in 85 million US homes, so you get some idea of the potential footprint of the high-octane, high-energy cricket tournament.

If any cricket is made for the discerning US market, Twenty20 is it. It’s fast, explosive and crammed into a short amount of time.

Across India way, meanwhile, cricket titan Sachin Tendulkar joined sports consultancy firm Spartan International as investor and a member of their advisory board, which includes Chris Gayle.

It might not seem a big deal, but scooping the greatest batsman of his age for a senior corporate position is big stakes.

The narrative that runs through each of these deals is that no sport, and no-one, can afford to stand still. UFC is always pushing the boundaries and even breaking the rules. For years, New York banned them, but they lobbied tirelessly. A few months ago, that wall came tumbling down.

Live crowds of 20 000 are now common with gate takings alone in the US $10-m range.

The move that perhaps resonates most closely with South Africa is the Australian cricket deal. Australians are so relentlessly successful as a cricket nation because complacency doesn’t exist in their environment. The success of the Indian Premier League spawned the Big Bash League, which was an instant hit.

Last year, one match drew a staggering 81 000 fans.

Organisers are even toying with the idea of playing a fixture on Christmas day. That’s not tweaking the template so much as tearing it up.

Cricket, like all sport, is under the cosh, whether it be from competing interests or the squeeze of a tight economy. Fair dinkum, no half measures from the Aussies.

Tendulkar’s shift is also indicative of a man chasing ambition. The little master has moved into a new realm and must carve out a new existence. He’s getting a move on.

Where do we fit into all this?

Sadly, nowhere. Increasingly, the focus on excellence and performance is diverted elsewhere. South African sport is shot through with nasty sub-plots and scheming. No-one can think beyond next week because too often there are battles to be fought here and now. It’s exhausting.

Where are the SA administrators and coaches making it in the world, where are the local sports properties that possess the potential to export? Where is the vigour and the energy?

If anyone hadn’t realised, we’re being left behind.

Has anyone noticed? – © Sunday Tribune

 

Would you take a drug that guaranteed you an Olympic gold medal but also your death in five years’ time?

Think about it. The glory, the money, the adulation; unstinting for five years and, then, nothing. You die.

As dark as the question may seem, it was asked by Bob Goldman, an American doctor, following publication of his book Death in the Locker Room.

Dozens of elite athletes were surveyed over a 13-year period ending in 1995. Around half of them said they would take the Faustian bargain.

I can’t pretend to have insight into the psychology behind such a decision, but I imagine that for elite athletes an Olympic gold medal holds a significance that none of us could contemplate. Athletes thrive on the cheers and they live off their earnings. An Olympic gold medal guarantees both.

The Goldman Dilemma, as it came to be known, took place largely in the context of a weak international doping policy. The World Anti-Doping Agency didn’t exist.

Subsequent studies revealed that far fewer athletes would go down this road, but it wasn’t excluded altogether.

The Goldman Dilemma came to mind recently with the slew of positive tests by chiefly Kenyan and Russian athletes. As someone like Lance Armstrong demonstrated, the “reward” of doping clearly outweighed the risk (which happily excluded certain death). So he doped. There are many such like-minded athletes who, knowing the dangers of taking a prohibited substance, do so anyway. The testing procedures are full of holes and, besides, with members of the Russian establishment complicit in the doping, their chances of evading the testers were pretty good.

It’s easy to see why athletes are seduced by doping. It guarantees improved performance and it aids in recovery. Steroids and stimulants work, which is why they are so popular.

Two-year bans aren’t deterrent enough for many, who fancy their chances of keeping one step ahead of the anti-doping brigade. It’s often one set of (dirty) doctors against another set of (conscientious) doctors.

This is why blood samples are often taken and stored. The technology for testing a substance may not be available currently, but it may be in coming years. The blood samples can always be revisited, as occurred in May when 23 London Olympic competitors, five of them medalists, failed retrospective doping tests.

It was a potent reminder that athletes can never be too cocky thinking they’ve got away with cheating. That knock at the door could some at any time.

For now, the eyes of the world are on Russia which this week named 68 athletes to its Olympic squad, contingent on their ban being lifted. The case is with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which must make its ruling in 10 days’ time.

Whatever happens, it will be messy. If the ban is lifted, there will be an outcry, not least from other athletes who are sick to death of the duplicitous nature of Russian athletics. Indeed, the provisional team includes former world indoor triple jump champion  Yekaterina Koneva, who was banned for two years previously.

If the ban is confirmed, it will create a political storm and some Russian athletes will likely try and compete as independents. Many, though, are fierce nationalists and would prefer to sit at home.

Either way, Rio will have to add the Russian problem to the many others it already has piled up at its door.

Don’t be fooled, though. The Russians won’t be the only ones with a cloud hanging over their participation. It will be mere weeks after the Olympics before word comes trickling through of athletes testing positive. Every Olympic Games since 1968 (bar, ironically the Moscow Games of 1980, which is widely believed to have been fuelled by testosterone, for which no test existed), has exposed dopers, many of them big names.

We might even have to get used to the dreadful possibility of dope fiend Justin Gatlin, a proven cheat, winning the high profile 100m sprint. He’s been tearing up the tracks – he ran a 9.80 this week – while Olympic champion Usain Bolt is injured and may not be in top form come August.

Don’t say you haven’t been warned. – © Sunday Tribune