C’WEALTH GAMES: INVEST IN FIELD EVENTS

Yesterday the curtain fell on what has been another enthralling edition of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, United Kingdom.

Eswatini was represented by 11 athletes who were in pursuit for glory in four sporting codes. The codes were athletics, boxing, cycling and swimming. The only thing to celebrate for Team Eswatini was reaching the final of the 200 metres through 34-year-old sprint sensation Sibusiso ‘Swazi Bolt’ Matsenjwa, who was competing for the last time in the event. In short, there was no medal again. When it comes to the big stage, we’ve become a country of celebrating only national records and personal bests.

medal

The last time Eswatini got a medal in the Commonwealth Games was back in 2006 when Simanga ‘The Boer’ Shiba brought home bronze from Melbourne in Australia. That was 16 years ago. Eswatini has competed in over 10 Commonwealth Games since the early 70s. The country has won four medals, with three from boxing and one in athletics. Their first medal was a bronze medal in the men’s marathon and it was won by Richard Mabuza in 1974. Once returning home to reflect on what has been another fruitless outing, the starting point should be reviewing the approach to these games.

prioritising

When it comes to athletics, the country seems to be prioritising sprinters of late. Investment in long distance runners and field events leave much to be desired. While the issue of long distance runners can be a topic for another day, the concern is the inability to make a proper investment on field events. For the uninitiated, field events consist of the high jump, pole vault, long jump, triple jump and shot put. They also consist of the javelin, hammer and discus throws. These often are outside of the stadium because they take up a large amount of space and may damage grass in the field. There are emaSwati who can be pushed to qualify and leave a mark in these events.

There may be concerns that stadium owners complain that javelin, hammer and discus throws destroy their fields but it is not an excuse. There are always options to be explored and investing in a national field for field events cannot be too costly. With the next Commonwealth Games in four year’s time, the athletes in the field events might not be ready, but they will already be competing regionally. We cannot be taking the same team (sprinters) in every major event and returning home empty-handed. Yes, they have shown a potential to reach for the stars regionally, but it is high time we stop sending sprinters (athletics) only to these big events.

compete

In as much as we do compete with athletes from countries that have high performance centres, it cannot stop us from going for gold. Winning the silver medal in boxing in the Brisbane edition showed the country’s potential of leaving a mark. All that is needed is changing the ‘Jamaica mindset’ of trying to produce mainly sprinters. The biggest mistake the country can make is accepting the ‘bridesmaid’ status in these games. That will be tantamount to embracing mediocrity, which is the enemy of excellence. Mediocrity is average; it is ordinary. It is an attitude of acceptance and being okay with the unexceptional. In short, when something is mediocre, it means that thing is not very good. Joseph Joubert says mediocrity is excellent to the eyes of mediocre people.

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