Delhi Commonwealth Games - How I see Team SA's performance

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Monday, 25 October 2010 22:54

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My feeling of pride at the 19th Commonwealth Games

Accompanying Team SA as a sports scientist was a very rewarding and humbling experience. For the duration of the first week of the Commonwealth Games, swimming became my priority as it occupied most of the day (heats, semi’s then finals). I did however manage to get to a few other sports including the final rounds of our women’s netball, the men’s and women’s hockey matches, I also watched quite a bit of athletics and lawn bowls on the telly. The one event I wouldn’t miss were the cycling events, both the road discipline and the time-trial.

The environment and atmosphere the Commonwealth Games Village provides is the kind every sports lover would die for. Being able to share the dinner table with the likes of Natalie du Toit and Robbie Hunter, and delve into some friendly banter with athletes from all over the commonwealth, some whose names you have heard all to often in the media but somehow they look different in real life?

I am proud to say that I witnessed every SA medal won and each record broken at the swimming events. The sense of pride I experienced as the national anthem played with our colourful flag raised high above the rest truly makes your hair stand on end, and the emotion brought a tear to my eye (I had to tell you the truth…there’s no need to tell anyone else though).

Our medal tally rose to 12 gold, 11 silver and 10 bronze placing Team South Africa in fifth place overall out of 71 nations being represented within the Commonwealth. The sporting codes responsible for SA’s impressive performance are swimming, lawn bowls, wrestling, archery, gymnastics and sevens rugby. Others that narrowly missed out on the podium were the hockey teams, netball, and table tennis. You all deserve a massive round of applause for doing yourself and your country proud.