It is some time now since the unthinkable happened, an event that divided, and is expected to continue to divide, the athletics world for the foreseeable future.

I was briefly interrupted as I wrote this article as, first, Wayde van Niekerk won his heat of the 400 m men’s semifinal, followed minutes later by Isaac Makwala, of Botswana, matching that in his heat. The sun was still shining outside as the qualifying heats of the 2017 International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championship Athletics were completed. Joining Van Niekerk and Makwala in the top five of the 400 m men’s semifinal qualification was Baboloki Thebe, also of Botswana. All seemed to indicate that South Africa and Botswana might well be among the medal winners when the final was run – they would fill three of the eight lanes.

As I sat down to continue writing, I was again interrupted, this time by the medal ceremony for the men’s long jump, with Luvo Manyonga having won gold and his compatriot, Ruswahl Samaai, bronze. Two out of three for South Africa ain’t bad. There must be a song about that, don’t you think, Mr Steinman?

But these performances, impressive as they are, are not the news of the 2017 IAAF World Championships Athletics, for that belongs to the men’s 100 m final, which saw Usain Bolt, in his last competitive race before retiring from the sport, being relegated to bronze. It is said that there is a first time for everything. This was quite unthinkable in the build-up to the final, as Bolt had not lost in the last ten years of competitive racing. But it is not so much about Bolt being relegated to bronze which is the talk of town, but rather who won the race. Not even the athlete who pushed Bolt to bronze – it is the winner of the race.

The winner was Justin Gatlin, who was roundly jeered following his victory and then again when he was presented with the gold medal. What was his sin? Beating Bolt into third place. Gatlin had twice been banned from athletics. His readmission – twice – was blamed, shortly after his victory, by Lord Sebastian Coe, the president of the IAAF, on the World Anti-Doping Agency and legal systems worldwide that provided for Gatlin’s return.

Gatlin’s first drugs ban, in 2001, was imposed for two years, but was subsequently halved following an appeal. In his appeal, Gatlin contended that the positive test was the result of medication he had been taking since his childhood, when he was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, or ADD. The second ban, for eight years, was imposed in 2008, after testing positive for testosterone. This ban was again halved on appeal.

What makes the manner of the exit of Bolt, who has been hailed as “a shining light for a sport battered and bruised by one doping scandal after another”, sadder and ironic was the fact that, of the 30 fastest 100 m times ever, only nine were achieved by a clean athlete. In athletics, it is called ‘clean speed’. Yes, you guessed it. The singularly clean athlete was Bolt. Incredibly, the other 21 were run by athletes who have tested positive for doping at some point in their careers.

So, the highlight of what you might call “that fateful Saturday night” was the clean athlete having to concede his title to a tainted athlete who has been guilty of multiple infringements. It is all quite disheartening, but that is life, I suppose. It is not always the favourites that win, nor is it the most loved, liked or even the most revered. So much for Andrew Keane’s “winners never cheat and cheaters never win”. Was this then an instance of the good being trumped by evil?

Well, according to Don Miguel Ruiz: “People like to say that the conflict is between good and evil. The real conflict is between truth and lies.”

This made me think about the South Africa of today, and whether there is no truth in the words of Ruiz? Evidently, there is no premium being placed on the truth. For the truth is seemingly a matter of contention and perception, devoid of any reality or consequence. The lack of speaking the truth is evidence of the associated lack of honour and, in the absence of accountability, and shame, it merely perpetuates the dishonour. There is no longer the honour of resigning when untruths – it is no longer seemingly acceptable to call it lies – are discovered and unveiled. The responsibility of affecting the corrective action is simply delegated by the perpetrator. So, similar to the jeering by the spectators at the 2017 IAAF event, the jeering of the people of South Africa currently has little, if any, impact on those South Africans facing conflictions between truths and lies.

Don’t Fly Too High . . .
Since the last instalment of this column, ‘Preparing to sell off the family silver’, the National Treasury has announced the appointment of a new CEO for South African Airways, the national carrier. He will assume his new position when his current employer has officially released him. The date is unknown.
Ever wondered how many airlines there are in the world? Around 5 000 airlines have International Air Transport Association codes. As to how many national airlines there are, this is essentially an unGoogle-able question.

The only commercially successful national carriers that benefit from government funding but are allowed to operate as commercial enterprises are the airlines of Singapore and Ethiopia, as well as the Gulf carriers: Etihad, Emirates and Qatar Airways. A total of five.

While, many years ago, airlines used to be regarded as a vital part of the transport system, much like roads and bridges, this is simply no longer the case. To think otherwise is not progressive thinking. Governments, and the South African government, in particular, have bigger fish to fry. It is acknowledged that some things are so vital that governments must protect them, such as education, national security, banks and infrastructure. These do not include the vanity of a national carrier.