SOWETAN SAYS | SA needs to develop more Tatjanas

It’s week two of the Paris Olympics and SA has had a best possible start to the event, bagging three medals.

The Springbok Sevens secured bronze after their win over Australia at the weekend – the second time they achieve the feat after Rio 2016 – while Alan Hatherly also got us bronze in mountain biking.

But this week has been all about swimming sensation Tatjana Smith, who bagged Africa’s first gold medal at this year’s Games by winning the 100m breaststroke on Monday.

Smith takes to the pool again today in an attempt to defend her 200m breaststroke title she claimed at Tokyo 2020, and we have no doubt she will make us proud again after sailing through yesterday’s heats as top qualifier.

We expect Team SA to add to their medal tally as the Games go on, especially in athletics, which kick off tomorrow. Our sprinters – led by sprinter Akani Simbine and middle-distance runner Prudence Sekgodiso – stand a good chance of medalling after a great recent record.

Naturally, winning on the sporting front makes South Africans forget about their many problems, and politicians also tend to seek mileage from the success of our athletes.

Sport, arts and culture minister Gayton McKenzie has been one such politician, getting himself into the news almost every day since he was appointed to cabinet. We wish to caution McKenzie that while it’s all good to celebrate sporting achievements, this country still has a long way to go to meet others in competitive levels.

We no doubt should be bagging more medals, but resources are not directed to those who need them. Talent is, as a result, lost along the way, because politicians tend to focus on the finished product, rather than unearthing raw gems.

McKenzie should be telling us what role he’s going to play as a new, supposedly energetic minister to produce more Tatjanas, specifically from our townships, for future Olympics. Instead, upon returning from Paris, McKenzie immediately jumped onto another social media trend – this time involving Miss SA contestant Chidimma Adetshina – and promised to look into the controversy.

McKenzie may be meaning well but being all over is not going to help him excel in his portfolio. For him to make a real impact, his department must invest heavily at grassroots level and be seen not only for photo opportunities with successful athletes, but also for backing them when they were nowhere near stardom.

Too often our athletes excel in spite of, rather than because of, opportunistic politicians.