South Africa 1988. A markedly different place to what we have come to know as the Rainbow Nation. Apartheid was still in force as was The Border War, economic sanctions and the international sporting boycott.
The latter phenomenon seems crazy now: imagine an entire country being excluded from international sporting competition because of unpopular legislation? Difficult to get one’s head around - or even comprehend - in the modern age of instant connectivity and political correctness. Needless to say that the world has become a smaller place indeed.
Who remembers the Rebel Tours? A uniquely South African concept reminiscent of the "bad old days", these tours were devised and perfected by various enterprising individuals across various sporting codes. Regard for the politics of the day was scant; if there was a will and a sponsor, there was most certainly a way. The New Zealand Cavaliers of 1986 or Mike Gatting’s band of cricketers in 1989/90: but two examples of “sanctions-busting” in the name of sport, famous or infamous depending upon personal perspectives. With the Zola Budd debacle still fresh in the minds of many, it took some courage and lots of “balls” for any foreign sportsman to even contemplate competing on the southern tip of Africa. There were consequences back home, so only the headstrong and adventurous needed apply.
Even training in South Africa was frowned upon. Glenn Cook, former top British triathlete and now Assistant Head Coach to Her Majesty's Triathlon Program told me recently how he had wanted to base himself year here in the summer months of 1990. It was either invest his money in a summer training camp or self-fund his competing in that year's Commonwelath Games in New Zealand. Ever the pragmatist and a well-travelled fellow at that, Cook chose Africa, having already raced in countries like Nepal, China and Senegal. Such was the political pressure at the time that South Africa was still a "no go", with Cook electing to join Mark Marabini for pre-season training in neighbouring Zimbabwe. Where there is a will, there is almost always a way. (*Incidentally, Cook learned of the falling of the Berlin Wall in transit from a race in Senegal of all places. A professional triathlon in West Africa, I ask you? Cook related how he learned of this pivotal moment by glancing at a tiny television screen in Dakar Airport just prior to boarding his flight home. A lot of commotion on a load of small TVs apparently.)
The header image of this blog post encapsulates the buccaneering and entrepreneurial spirit of this period. The guys in the front row were all top French professional triathletes of the era; the three fellows to their rear are South Africans: a businessman, athlete and administrator respectively.
Nic van den Bergh was (and still is) an influential Cape Town businessman who loved the sport of triathlon. He owned a holding company called Longmile at the time, whose portfolio included an automobile silencer and exhaust franchise called Silencer Services. Together with a Durbanite - and top athlete - named Nigel Reynolds, they sought to bring international competition to South African shores in similar manner to their cricketing and rugby counterparts.
Now a farmer in Angola, Reynolds had been a member of the South African team that had won now-defunct London-Paris triathlon, an event that included swimming the English Channel. Competing as a professional triathlete in France at the time on a foreign passport, the multi-talented former World Quadrathlon Champion used his connections, savvy and Corsican locality to recruit a group of French triathletes to take on the Springbok team in March 1988. With van den Bergh providing the finance, the “Équipe Française en Afrique du Sud” arrived in the Republic to compete in two “Tests,” one in Gordon’s Bay and the other on the Durban beachfront.
The respective teams:
South Africa (The Springboks): Keith Anderson, Deon Steyn, Manfred Fuchs, Gary Wilson.
France: Fabrice Trousset, Thierry Henri, Roland Bertrand, Michel Gavet.
Whilst conditions were idyllic in the Western Cape resort town of Gordon’s Bay, the opposite rang true in Durban. High seas in the Indian Ocean saw many a withdrawal, with surf-swimmers like Kevin Richards reveling in the testing conditions.
The late Keith Anderson won both Tests convincingly, using his exceptional cycling strength to effectively put his competitors to bed, as they say. A legendary figure in South African sport, the BCom graduate and passionate fisherman was at the peak of his triathlon powers in 1988. Having spent much of the previous season racing in America and coming fourth off the bike at the Hawaii Ironman at the end of that same year, “Big Keith” would go on to post respectable performances in Nice before winding down his triathlon career in 1989. Ocean paddling became his sporting passion and, in keeping with his “Waterman” identity, would paddle around the entire island Mauritius for training (and for fun) or compete in the Breede River Canoe marathon in a surf-ski (he didn't like canoes). Such was the adventurous spirit of the man.
And with the excitement and allure of such international flavor coming to South African shores, it was perhaps indicative that more was to follow. In tandem with the visiting track and field athletes the following year, van den Bergh and co managed to lure another international triathlon team to Cape Town in 1989, this time from the USA.
But that is another story for another day.
Comments and feedback most welcome.
*Note: photo courtesy of Thierry Henri via the Facebook group: Triathlon : plongée dans l'histoire avec les légendes à bord
