It was a brilliant race from South African Alan Hatherly, and he deserves oodles of praise and respect for his bronze medal. Photo: AFP
Comment by Morgan Bolton
Fist-pumping to swimming? You betcha!
Jumping for joy at winning a bronze in rugby? Hundred percent, boet.
Shaking from anxious excitement during the mountain bike cross-country race? Well, yes, sometimes I even surprise myself...
The Paris Olympics has been exhilarating to watch, and thus far I have become a one-day expert in fencing, rowing, archery and diving.
I speak in turns, lunges, rotations and splashes; and dream of watching SA athletes standing on the podium, biting down on a medal, the national anthem accompanying their joy.
Did Simone Biles just land a Biles II, and was that a reverse two-and-half somersault tuck? Surely that was an Ippon?
I don’t know, but I’m eager to learn.
The return of spectators to the Olympics has reinvigorated my love for the Games, which makes the memory of Tokyo – so bereft of human interaction due to Covid – all the more depressing.
It would probably have been something truly special, but will be lost in the fugue of lockdown and protocols observed.
But I digress.
Hours before Tatjana Smith claimed a glorious victory in the 100m breaststroke final on Monday night – which propelled me out of my chair, jumping forward, shouting for joy – I found myself hooked on mountain biking.
I lived that race, barely able to tear myself away.
I watched breathlessly as Alan Hatherly put his all into the course, riding the technical areas, staying on the wheel of the front runners, no doubt molten iron pumping through his veins as his legs pumped him up, down, across, through woodland and dirt-track flats, ramping up and over obstacles, navigating rockfalls and wayward trees.
Eventually, British competitor Tom Pidcock won the race in dramatic fashion, passing Frenchman Victor Koretzky less than a minute from the finish line.
Pidcock had previously had a puncture, so his effort was all the more remarkable – truly Herculean. But it was Hatherly that had my palms sticky with worry.
He stuck with the leading group like a champ, holding onto coattails, clutching at air, but never giving up – not DNA, only RSA.
It was a brilliant race from the 28-year-old, and he deserves oodles of praise and respect for a wonderfully constructed challenge and his bronze medal.
I hope he has inspired South Africans watching – he certainly did so for me, and I will recall his efforts fondly in future.
Men's Cross-Country Olympic podium 👏
— UCI MTB (@UCI_MTB) July 29, 2024
🥇 Tom Pidcock 🇬🇧
🥇 Victor Koretzky 🇫🇷
🥉 Alan Hatherly 🇿🇦#MountainBike #OlympicCycling #Cycling #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/2X2PRAtb2y
Smith’s triumph in the 100m breaststroke later on was just magnificent.
At the turn, there was a concern that the Olympic champion would miss out, but her final 10m will live long in the memory.
It should be replayed several times over to figure out how she managed to claim the win, such was the nerve-racking finale.
Unless something went horribly wrong in the semi-finals last night, she will surely add to her medal tally tonight when she competes in the 200m breaststroke.
It is her preferred event, and if the heats are anything to go by, she has every opportunity to claim a rare double.
Do that, and Smith will become the most decorated South African Olympian ever.
One suspects such a milestone won’t matter for the introverted Smith.
What is arguably more important is what her first gold will inspire.
Perhaps, fingers crossed, it will galvanise fellow compatriots Kaylene Corbett and Pieter Coetzé in the pool to raise their game, with the track and field athletes motivated to give their all in the coming days to emulate her performances.
I have thus far ignored the tale of the Blitzboks, but from a truly hopeless season, they have made us proud.
When these Olympics are done and dusted, I think we will all find that rugby was one of the biggest winners, its prestige only enhanced by two fabulous tournaments.
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