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By Brendan Boyle
JOHANNESBURG, Reuter: South Africa’s Athletics Chief vowed on Sunday to continue this policy of luring top International Athletes to South Africa with attractive cash incentives.
“They won’t even let us watch the Olympics’ so what do they expect?” South ‘African amateur athletics union (SAAAU) Chairman Charles Nieuwoudt told reuters.
South Africa is banned from most international sport because of Pretoria’s apart-head race policies, and competitors from abroad who compete here risk suspension by their home organizations,
Buoyed by the success of a rebel track meet in Pretoria on Saturday, where four South African records were shattered by paid visitors from abroad, he said: “We’ll do it again. Of course we will.”
Nieuwoudt declined to say how much the 15 visitors were paid.
But the Sunday Star newspaper said the bill for the tour was thought to be about one million dollars, with each athlete getting at least 30,000 dollars,
“We have been banned from International Athletics since 1976. We have been barred from competing in the Olympic Games for more than 25 years.
“Yes, we organized the rebel tour. It was. Our initiative from the start Yes, we paid them and we will pay others,” Nieuwoudt said.
He added that his union had abandoned hope of getting back into fold of the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF).
I don’t think anyone has any hope of us getting back into world athletics now. We have given up on that,” he said.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 21, 1988
Article extracted from this publication >>
