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It was when SA was still banned from competing internationally because of Apartheid, so the idea was to try and simulate more competitive races for the top athletes, to gauge how they might perform internationally. There were some top class athletes who could have medalled at global meets, but never competed globally, and were often unbeaten for long periods of time locally. For example, in 1990, Myrtle Bothma ran her fastest ever time of 53.65 for 400H against men (at the time the world record was 52.94). Her PB against women was 53.74. She finally got the chance ti compete at the Olympics in 1992, although she wasn't at her best anymore - she fell in the final, when she was on course for a possible medal placing

I'm so sorry to hear that. I hope he had a good life. This is all I have of the meet. There were another 1 or 2 meets in the series, but unfortunately I don't have them on tape. I'm glad you found this one and I hope it gave you some comfort to see him in his prime. How did you find this video?

Most of these videos were from the depths of the Apartheid era, and you can certainly see from the ethnic make up of the competitors in most events (apart from the distance running events) that black athletes simply didn't have the same opportunities that white athletes did (especially in events requiring equipment and more technical coaching). So, yes - it's certainly a visual record that shows the inequality of the day. Even though the sport was totally integrated, strictly speaking. In the years following, SA has had black athletes competing internationally in events like the jumps, whereas during the Apartheid years there were (relatively) few athletes in these events.

@@southafricanathleticslate828 thank you for the detailed response providing more context. I was also noticing that the crowd seemed to be totally white. I was also struck by the discrepancy between the events, because in the United States, sprints and jumps are dominated by black athletes while distance events are dominated by white athletes. In your opinion, what allowed more opportunity for black athletes in the distance events, even during the extreme inequities of apartheid? Was it just less requirement for equipment and technical coaching, or is there more to it?

@@compassionatepeercounseling Yes, the crowds were predominantly white, but not exclusively. Athletics in SA in the 80's was huge (among white people) - in an average week there might be 2-3 meets televised on mainstream TV and the stadiums would be full to the brim). SA had a number of truly world class athletes, but they couldn't compete internationally until 1992. Black athletes did really well in the distance events for a few reasons, in my view. 1. Just like many Kenyans, some black athletes had developed a fantastic endurance base from an early age by running to school and back. 2. It was an easy event to compete in and train for without the need for coaching and/or technical facilities/ equipment. 3. The gold mines were very good at promoting running among their employees - they provided coaching and time off, so some of the very best distance runners in SA came from the mines (Matthews Temane comes to mind, who had a fantastic range from 1,500m to half marathon). Re your point about USA distance athletes: I think that many back people in the USA originated from West Africa, rather than East or Southern Africa, where the better distance runners (with slighter frames) have traditionally come from

@@southafricanathleticslate828 thank you again for the generous historical context and your perspective. It's like a fascinating sneak peek into a world I know very little about. As a former distance runner, I'm just starting to dig into the history of distance running as well as track and field. I saw that you were a competitive hurdler, and your first hand perspective is priceless. I was just looking up Matthews Temane after seeing him in one of your videos. The context about the gold mines is intriguing. I think you have a point regarding the location USA black athletes originated from in Africa, which makes me curious how much of an impact the transatlantic slave trade had/has on athletes and athletics in the USA and Africa, particularly West Africa. In the USA, there's very little that hasn't been touched by the transatlantic slave trade, particularly because we haven't made true amends/repair. There's so much to dig into.

@@compassionatepeercounseling A weighty topic indeed - in both USA and SA! And then there is the Zola Budd story, which I assume you know all about? If not, enjoy the wormhole of videos and googling that takes you down into!

Ha ha it was just the way it was back then ........

Indeed, he was a fierce competitor. I expect he would have done very well internationally in the mid/ late 80’s

@@southafricanathleticslate828Мне понравились ваши ролики. Не ожидал что смогу когда нибудь это увидеть В связи с этим вопрос? Есть ли у вас ролики с участием другого выдающегося бегуна- Малана? Рекордсмен мира на 1000м 216.0( 1973) и третьего номера рейтинга 1976 . В 1976 он выйграл забег в Цюрихе, где бежали все сильнейшие, с результатом 335,98( рекорд ЮАР)

No I’m sorry I don’t have can’t more videos. Why are you so interested in South African athletics?

@@southafricanathleticslate828 Эта страна долгое время была в изоляции, с моей точки зрения несправедливо , но при этом подавляющему большинству атлетов, не приходила в голову мысль сменить гражданство. Тех кто сменил единицы , из выдающихся - это Сидней Мэйри и Зола Бадд, да они были рекордсменами мира, но на крупных турнирах( олимпийские игры и чемпионаты мира не побеждали) . Такая вера в свою правоту вызывает уважение. Лёгкая атлетика а ЮАР всегда была очень сильной и мне искренне жаль что такие выдающиеся атлеты как Малан, Фуйри, де Клерк, Ботсма, Бруберг не получили возможность проявить себя на международной арене А Элана Мейер завоевала серебро на Олимпиаде 92, уже на спаде карьеры

@@southafricanathleticslate828 Мои комментарий удалили, хотя он был абсолютно безобидным. Напишу снова. В ЮАР всегда были элитные атлеты: Герд Потгиетер- рекордсмен мира на 440 ярдов с барьерами, Малан- рекордсмен мира на 1000м, Фуйри, бегуньи же Клерк, Ботсма, Элана Мейер и т.д и т.п Сменившие гражданство Сидней Мэйри и Зола Бадд были рекордсменами мира на 1500м 331.24; 2000м 533.14 и 1448. на 5000м , марафонец Платьем был чемпионом мира в 1993 году . Целая россыпь выдающихся спортсменов и спортсменок. Отсюда мой интерес

I’m so glad you have enjoyed the videos! I was one of the athletes who ran against myrtle - I ran my personal best time, being pushed by her 😅

I'm sorry - I probably did have one of his jumps on video at some point, but it got recorded over. I never anticipated it would be such a great resource to have so many years later ..... Have you managed to find a lot of other videos of him competing? It would be interesting to hear about his experience of doing that tour to SA as it was quite a contentious thing to do at the time

Chris and I were very good friends. I went to his wedding. Not sure where he is now

Ha ha, no that would be quite niche! 😆

Sorry, but I have nothing at all from Cradock. I wish I did, because I ran my 400m PB in Cradock in October 1988. Maybe you were there too?

Gary ek het 1 keer n SA's finaal gehaal U23 in Kimberley. Jyt hom nie dalk nie?

@southafricanathleticslate828 Remember the meeting very well. It was a big thing for a small town. We had a school program as well, I was u17.

Marius Corbett se tyd?

@@willemjordaan4108 Ja hy sou die daaropvolgende jaar in st 6 op Marlow begin. Ek het ook spies gegooi. In 1990 was daar n byeenkoms waarby Tom Petranof deelgeneem het, teen Johan Oosthuizen. Ons kon n kliniek bywoon wat Tom aangebied het. Ek onthou hy het ook n spiesgooi oefen video vir ons gegee. Wys wat kan gebeur as jy tegniek by talent voeg. Die daaropvolgende jare toe kuier Corbett in die 70"s. Goeie tye.

I didn't even notice… Wow! Thanks for pointing that out.

Elma Uys - her father was Retief Uys

@southafricanathleticslate828 thanks for the feedback Started to read up on Gerald. So many years ago but at the time our sports in Sa was fantastic I was fortunate enough to train with Francious Du Toit, Charmaine Weavers and Tsakile Nzimande. I was a laatjie at school and these top performers were just so good to be around. Thank you

Good point! No there weren't (and still aren't) any indoor tracks or meets in SA.

She was primarily a long jumper but I expect she did a lot of sprinting when she was at college in the USA, and she had this one particular 1991 season in SA where was also on fire in the sprints

Ditto, lekker man, lekker

Jy is blindkyk weer!

The upper torso is what counts. Yvette took it by a hair. Watch the video frame by frame from 1:45, and you’ll see Yvette clearly taking it.

I think she just ran for the GOK club (coached by Rita Engelbrecht), but was studying at WITS

Nee, jy was weer 4de..😂..ander ou het geval.

Murray, was hy jou oefenmaat?

I literally dream (often) of being able to run like that again ..... even just once would be amazing. I'm sure you do too ;-)

@@garycawkermusic2998 Ja, verseker, jy gee my nou goosebumps... 🤣

@@garycawkermusic2998 Gary, imagine jy kan baie coaches se video en foto footage kry, en alles op hierdie YT channel sort, en hierdie materiaal weer re-master met AI, etc., sal jy dit doen?

Wies jy?😂

@@johanvanniekerk5261 Hoe weet ek jy is Johan van Niekerk?

Wat se item?

@@johanvanniekerk5261 My eerste comment, jy tap op die 46:30, RUclips gaan reguit na die item. 110 H.