Go 4 February 2021

CONTACT US
Newsdesk (043) 702-2125
Advertising (043) 702-2031
(043) 702-2048
(043) 702-2122
GO!
& EXPRESS
T h u rs d ay
4 Februar y, 202 1
MAIL US
go ex p ress @ a re n a . a f r i ca
BCM clarifies billing trouble PAGE 6
SPORT
Merrifield’s
math whiz
PAGE 7
Preserve running’s history
Buffalo Road Runners club is
paramount to marathon
running in the province
BOB NORRIS
Every era has a different feel
to it and offers differing
building blocks in delivery
of events and performances.
The various angles that any
one decade may expose to the
history of a sport is telling and
should be documented for
p o s t e r i t y.
We are fast approaching a
time where the history of road
running, cross-country or track
and field could be lost to the
detriment of emerging athletes.
Not only because
circumstances in respect of the
economy or lifestyles have
changed and continue to do so,
but because the personalities of
the 1980s and 90s are being lost
to ill health, emigration and
disillusionment in the sport.
I have previously shared the
availability of the five volumes
of books written by Dewald
Steyn in respect of all distance
running at a largely elite level.
Having the collection in my
home is simply comforting.
Steyn is now writing the
history of track and field. He is
himself an athletic character of
note and is now 78 years old.
In the Border region we have
been so well served by the late
Tony Viljoen’s Road Running —
The Border Story.
That book was published in
1996 and my wife Pat, whom he
taught at Cambridge High, was
at the launch to receive a signed
copy while I was away in
Atlanta for the Olympic Games.
I refer to the book often.
Matthews Temane, one of
S A’s greatest athletes, has been
quite difficult to contact. He set
a world best half-marathon time
on the East London Esplanade in
1987 and we would love to
have him here for the Ocean 21.
Through pure chance
I flipped sporting channels on
Tuesday evening and there he
was, being interviewed on a
weekly programme.
Well into his 50s now it was
so encouraging to hear him
speak and reflect on the years of
competition with Matthews
Batswadi and Matthews
Motshwarateu, Xolile Yawa,
Mark Plaatjies, Johan Fourie,
Zithulele Sinqe and a host of
super athletes from that era. If
only they could be cloned.
Every club and every race
has a history that should be
documented and not lost to
brazen belief systems that the
past doesn’t matter
I take East London Athletics
as a case in point. The ELAC of
today may not mirror the
original, but it does owe its
strong foundation to the efforts
of many a stalwart. I am loath to
name them lest one is left out.
The history of Buffalo Road
Runners is paramount to
marathon running in the
province and while the club is
not the powerhouse it was when
I started running, it most
certainly needs to be preserved,
as does the Buffalo Marathon
and the Washie 100.
Many other clubs, old and
new, should be documenting
their history.
The Discovery Surfers is
setting up a new website and I
have been attempting to get an
accurate list of winners across
all competitions.
From 1982 onwards the
original winners’ results are
covered in respect of the men,
but the women’s winners only
kick in from 2008. The men are
missing 1976 to 1981.
The inaugural race in 1975 is
covered only because I know
Kenny Wilkinson was the first
w i n n e r.
● If anybody can assist with any
results you may know, please
refer them to me on
082-554 4016 or
bob@boastrunningsuccess.co.za.
Let not one be forgotten.
- DispatchLIVE
NEVER FORGOTTEN: Running has a rich history that should
be documented and preserved Picture: PIXABAY
Wildcard Potch entry for EL tennis star
ATHENKOSI TSOTSI
Tennis SA on Monday announced three
wildcard entries to the first week of the
2021 Potch Open. Wildcard slots for the
main draw of the ATP Challenger 80 event
have been awarded to former top junior
Kholo Montsi, who was born in East
London, Vaughn Hunter and Robbie
Arends. The Potch Open runs from Monday
February 8 to Sunday February 21 at North-
West University, Potchefstroom campus.
Former SA No 1 and world No 12
junior Montsi will get a chance for an
encore after his promising performance in
the 2020 ATP Challenger 50 in
Potchefstroom, where the 18-year-old
prospect lost in the opening round after a
hard-fought match against ATP world
number 264 Evgeny Karlovskiy from
TO CONTACT US - News: (043) 702-2125 or (043) 702-2046;
Ad ve r t i s i n g : (043) 702-2048 / 702-2031; Classifieds: (043) 702-2122
Russia. The Potch Open event will be
Montsi’s first tournament since October
2020, when he lost in the second round of
the Roland Garros Junior Championships
in Paris. Hunter, 26, will take part in his first
competitive action of 2021 and his first
tournament in 10 months. He last played in
the Potch Open in March 2020, losing to
Austrian Lucas Miedler in the first round.
Teenager Arends will make an
appearance in his first ATP Challenger
main draw event. In addition to the three
wild cards for the main draw, three
promising young SA players — Devin
Badenhorst, Pierre Malan and Jamie
Graham Davis — have been given
wildcard entries into the qualifying draw
Meanwwhile the rain gods were a little
extreme with their blessings on the Kaya
Majeke Premier Tennis Challenge on
BRIGHT FUTURE:
Kholo Montsi
pictured here
taking part in a
tournament in
2019 P i c t u re :
SUPPLIED
❝ If converted
into an indoor
facility, it
could put
BCM on the
map in terms
of conducting
indoor tennis
[tour naments]
Monday when the tennis courts at
Selborne Park were flooded, delaying the
semifinals action by more than six hours.
Day four’s proceedings were scheduled
to begin at 8am, but were pushed back to
10am when the heavens opened. The rain
only halted at 1pm. This meant officials
had to sort out the order of play, inspect the
courts and deploy a team to clean and dry
them so that the day’s play could start.
“ KM Tennis Challenge tournament
director Kaya Majeke suggested BCM look
at the feasibility of constructing an indoor
tennis court. “Looking at the facilities the
municipality renovated at Selborne Park —
I believe the structure could be converted
to an indoor facility. It could contribute
towards the GDP and put BCM, as well as
the Eastern Cape, on the map in terms of
conducting indoor tennis.” - DispatchLIVE