Paris is a hive of activity with the world’s elite athletes peaking for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, and Team South Africa have arrived at the Athletes Village, acclimatising and advancing their preparations for the global extravaganza.
And fortunately for all involved, things are much different from the earlier subdued previous edition, when the Tokyo 2020 – delayed to 2021 – was held in strict compliance with measures aimed to protect the athletes and officials in the aftermath of the COVID-19 global pandemic, this time around things seem to be as close to normal as one can expect.
To build up to the biggest event on the sport calendar as well as the fast approaching #gsport19 Awards, we called for comment from former Mail and Guardian Woman in Print award winners Xolile Junia Mpisane and Mpumi Manyisi, as well as former gsport Public Award receipt and judge, and now Athletics South Africa Athletes Vice-Chairperson, Kesa Molotsane.
A stage as big as the Olympics provides yet another opportunity for the world media to shine the light on women’s sport. Therein lies a massive opportunity to advance and grow female athletes, and this interview trio believes there’s a room for improvement in the coverage of women’s sport at major tournaments on the sporting calendar.
Mpisane, who won at the 2021 awards soon after Tokyo, says steady progress has been made, but we still have a way to go: “I’d say there has been progress, although there’s still plenty of room for improvement, especially in the mainstream media spaces on television, radio, newspapers and magazines. Digital reporting seems to be on the rise, and the response has been good.”
True to the #PowerOfRecognition, Manyisi has seen a steady rise in her career, joining SABC Sport after working with Soweto TV and Jozi FM, just to name a few. She reflects on the impact of winning on the gsport stage:
“Winning the gsport Award opened so many doors for me, I’ve received calls from other journalists wanting to share my story on their platforms. I got a call from SAFA to host the Women’s World Cup trophy tour event last year, hosted at Shapa Soweto formerly known as Nike Centre, fast forward to hosting the Gauteng Women in Sport dialogue under the Sport Ministry, and so much more, all because of gsport, and I will forever be grateful.”
2022 Mail & Guardian Woman in Print – Mpumi Manyisi
With regard to the media, Manyisi says the media has followed the necessary steps to raise the profile of SA’s female representatives. However, there are a few reservations.
“We’ve written much and we’ve heard much about Tatjana, Caitlyn, Courtnaé Paul, and the likes. Where my concern is, I feel like we didn’t do much regarding debutants,” she argues.
“People will be going to the Olympics for the first time. The ladies that we don’t know much about, or the ones that are going there maybe for the second time, there, we’ve not done much. But the Olympics are just starting now, so that also gives us an opportunity to figure out which stories we can cover.”
Women athletes in SA across many sporting codes have been exceptional ambassadors on the world stage. From World Cups (Banyana Banyana and Proteas Women) to tournaments like the Commonwealth Games, they’ve come with medals and brought pride to our flag.
For example, at the Tokyo Games, Tatjana Schoenmaker and Bianca Buitendag were Team South Africa’s only medalists. Had it not been for these two women, we would’ve come back with zero to show.
Are they “getting their flowers” for their commitment after ensuring that the people of Mzansi have something to celebrate, when the curtain shut down at the end of the tournament?
Mpisane believes we could’ve done better: “If Tatjana and Bianca were male, they would have had more endorsements and support after their successes and up to this day. Hopefully this will change soon, where we will see women athletes being celebrated and supported more, well after the airport arrival festivities.”
The gsport Woman in Print winner weighs in: “The bigger responsibility lies on us, the media, because if people see it online, they see it on our television screens, they hear it on radio, then their eyes get opened in terms of acknowledging what these ladies have done for us as a country.
“With the Olympics now, I feel like it’s the time for us as journalists to go all out to speak about these ladies and to give them their flowers. Not just for the Olympics and in different platforms like Kgothatso Montjane representing us at global stages and not just at Wimbledon. Even if it’s not the biggest, biggest competition, the fact that they’re outside the country and they’re flying the South African flag high, we have to write about them.”
2021 Mail and Guardian Woman in Print winner, Xolile Junia Mpisane
The running icon Molotsane says despite some challenges, the SA media has kept everyone abreast of who’s qualified.
“It was obviously difficult during the period of qualifying because most of our athletes went across the globe to try and qualify and get places where they can compete. So that can be a bit challenging for our people, our media houses to keep up with what’s happening across the world, and what’s happening in their respective sporting codes.”
“They’ve done their best to try and cover those stories so that a lot of South Africans can be aware of their qualifications and their competitions and their achievements as well, rallying towards the Olympic Games or the Paralympic Games. So, we really say thank you to our media houses who have covered their stories as well.”
2018 gsport Public Choice Award winner, Kesa Molotsane
Gerda Steyn, Irvette van Zyl and Cian Oldknow will represent SA in the marathons, these three ladies have stood out above the rest. Steyn won the Comrades and Two Oceans in style. Oldknow claimed her maiden South African title by winning the ASA Marathon Championships in a new record course time in Durban in May. As a result, Molotsane – who’s also a former judge at the Momentum gsport Awards, believes this trio have the potential to succeed in Paris.
“We have a very strong trio of individuals in the marathon team who can potentially make history, really. Gerda Steyn is currently very experienced and very confident at this point when it comes to her fitness. We do have someone that we can rely on to lead the entire team for the women’s section.
“We cannot shy away from the experience that Irvette van Zyl has when it comes to Olympic Games. Cian is a newcomer in the Olympics team. Her character is very, very strong. She’s a very strong competitor, very bold and an outgoing individual that gets the work done. I believe they can make history and they can carry each other towards the finish just to make sure that the team is in a better space, in a better position as well.”
2023 was a year heavily associated with women’s sport across the globe. It still remains to be seen if we have capitalised on that year considering that in many sports we are still calling for the professionalisation of women’s sport. Many female athletes lack support to a point of needing to still work full time jobs while playing sport at the highest level. A sad reality in 2024.
Mpisane: “Looking at ‘WE’ as a collective, some have done better than others. The athletes, coaches and administrators have done their bit on and off the pitch in terms of reaching new frontiers. 2023 saw South Africa hosting the Women’s ICC T20 World Cup and the Netball World Cup, with both tournaments being huge successes in terms of organisation and garnering public interest. The government and corporate could have done more to fast track the professionalisation of women’s sports in this country which still lags behind many countries that we compete against on global stages.”
South Africa, a sport mad nation, its people be glued to SABC as well as Supersport from the 26th of July to the 11th of August. It is extremely critical that every South African gets access and is able to support Team SA from home.
The SABC Sport journalist Manyisi, agrees: “Coming from the township myself, kids are part of running clubs, they’re part of sports academies and township academies, but they don’t understand the importance of what they are doing. So if we get to watch the Olympics on the national broadcaster, then they get to be motivated to say actually this is not just a hobby, it’s a sport that can be played at a professional level and that I can make money from and build a career from.
“Thank you to SABC for confirming that they’ll be broadcasting the Olympics because now they are bringing the Olympics closer to home. There are kids that could only dream of going to Paris, but if you get to watch it and it’s closer, it’s way closer to home and it’s very encouraging in a sense that you can identify. If you see a South African representative, then it tells you automatically that one day it can be you.”
“As the world over reaches fever pitch with what lies ahead in France, Mpisane hopes Team SA shows up and shows off: “Previously the teams that have been sent to the Olympics were heavily biased towards men in terms of numbers, this year it seems more balanced, although Team SA still has more men.”
“I hope the female athletes will continue raising the bar because I believe the country deserved way more than the three medals from Tokyo 2020. I’d like to see Tatjana adding to her medals tally and some medals from track and field and hopefully some team sports. I wish all our athletes the best of luck in Paris.”
Xolile Junia Mpisane
To her media colleagues, Manyisi says: “We all know how prestigious the Olympics are so I’d like to see all the successes highlighted, not just the medals but even those who will set new personal bests, continental and national records etc. Most of all, I’d like the athlete’s stories to be told in totality because they all have beautiful stories and they are more than what they do in the sporting arenas.”
Molotsane urges South Africans to come together and sing from the same tune when it comes to supporting our athletes: “If everybody can support this team because these athletes have worked so hard to come to where they are and we need to appreciate their efforts and support their campaigns throughout the games.
“It didn’t come as easy as it seems to get the qualification and to be included in the teams. They need us as much as we need them. We really need them to do well while they also need the support from back home that will boost their confidence to do well.”
“From my side, I initially started the campaign a while back to say we need more of these women to qualify, and I’m glad that we are seeing more of the younger generations qualifying for these games, the likes of Prudence Sekgodiso, and honestly, to have a young and beautiful flag bearer as Caitlin Rooskrantz, it’s really amazing.”
Kesa Molotsane
“We are excited to see a lot of things change to the direction,” says Molotsane. “Even the organising committee for our teams for the Olympic Games, we say Thank You for supporting women in sport and women in athletics in SA as well. All the best to the participants.”
Good luck to Team South Africa!
Photo Caption: Paris is a hive of activity with Paris 2024 set to begin and South Africans are gearing up to support Mzansi’s elite. Former gsport winners Xolile Mpisane, Mpumi Manyisi and Kesa Molotsane talk women’s sport coverage and the #PowerOfRecognition. All Photos: Supplied
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