<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



The degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy, commonly known as CTE, was found in more than 40% of athletes who died before 30, a study out Monday showed, illustrating the growing effects of a disease that has become synonymous with contact sports in recent years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KEY FACTS</h2>



The study,&nbsp;<a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaneurology/fullarticle/2808952" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published</a>&nbsp;in the&nbsp;JAMA Neurology&nbsp;journal, examined 152 donated brains of athletes who were exposed to repetitive head impacts from contact sports and died before 30.



Almost all of the brains examined by researchers at Boston University’s CTE Center showed the earliest stages of CTE, the study&nbsp;<a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaneurology/fullarticle/2808952" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">found</a>.



While suicide was the most common cause of death among those studied, researchers could not connect the clinical symptoms of depression with the athletes’ CTE, as nearly 70% of the athletes studied reported depression and apathy and 59% of them did not have CTE, researchers&nbsp;<a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaneurology/fullarticle/2808952" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>.



Of the 152 donors, all of whom died between 2008 and 2022, 63 were diagnosed with CTE at the time of their death.



Most of the brains studied were those of football players, though researchers also examined ice hockey and soccer players’ brains who played at the youth, high school and college levels.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">SURPRISING FACT</h2>



Researchers discovered the first American woman soccer player, a 28-year-old, to be diagnosed with CTE, in Monday’s study. The finding comes a month after Heather Anderson, a former Australian rules football player, became the first known woman in professional sports to be <a href="https://www.espn.com/afl/story/_/id/37956773/aflw-player-heather-anderson-first-woman-diagnosed-cte" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">diagnosed</a> with CTE.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



CTE is a head injury common in contact sports. It is known to cause memory loss, confusion, depression and dementia,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4255271/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according to</a>&nbsp;the National Institutes of Health’s National Library of Medicine. Boston University’s CTE Center&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bu.edu/alzresearch/ctecenter/chronic-traumatic-encephalopathy-faqs/#getCTE" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">noted</a>&nbsp;that “this trauma includes both concussions that cause symptoms and subconcussive hits to the head that cause no symptoms.” For the past 30 years researchers have been looking into the effects of the repeated blows to the head that come with contact sports. And while the disease has been known to affect boxers as far back as the 1920s, it rose to the mainstream in the 2000s, when cases among professional athletes were confirmed. In 2007, the&nbsp;New York Times&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/18/sports/football/18waters.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>&nbsp;that former football player Andre Waters sustained brain damage from his days as a professional athlete, which led to his depression and ultimately his death by suicide. In 2017, researchers&nbsp;<a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/16/health/cte-confirmed-in-first-living-person-bn/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">revealed</a>&nbsp;they discovered the first living person to be accurately diagnosed with CTE—Fred McNeill, a former NFL linebacker who played professional football for 12 seasons before retiring in the 1980s and who died in 2015 at age 63. Before McNeill, CTE was only identifiable through a postmortem brain examination.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">BIG NUMBER</h2>



6.2 million. That’s how many children in the U.S. suffered traumatic brain injuries from sports equipment from 2000 to 2019,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2022/07/14/62-million-us-children-suffered-traumatic-brain-injuries-from-sports-equipment-from-2000-to-2019-with-a-higher-increase-among-girls-study-finds/?sh=6840eca22d11">according to</a>&nbsp;a study that came out last year.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2022/07/14/62-million-us-children-suffered-traumatic-brain-injuries-from-sports-equipment-from-2000-to-2019-with-a-higher-increase-among-girls-study-finds/?sh=6840eca22d11">6.2 Million U.S. Children Suffered Traumatic Brain Injuries From Sports Equipment From 2000 To 2019, With A Higher Increase Among Girls, Study Finds</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)

Brain damage and sports injury concept

Researchers Found CTE In 40% Of Athletes Who Died Before Age 30

Not since World War II has the global sports industry faced such a crippling crisis, which is likely to cost billions of dollars in lost revenue and could yet see the permanent extinction of some teams and competitions.



The coronavirus pandemic that has spread across the world has the potential to change the face of sports forever, and Africa will not be spared, with one administrator suggesting the outbreak could set their game back 20 years.



The severity of the impact will be determined by how long it takes for society to live alongside the pandemic, but even if that were to happen in June, there has already been significant damage done.



Confederation of African Football (CAF) President Ahmad Ahmad has tried to provide a positive outlook, but knows the complexity of the situation on the continent is dire.



None of the 54 domestic leagues in Africa was still running in May, as Burundi was the last to close up shop the month before, but just when cross-border competitions such as the lucrative CAF Champions League, and qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations and World Cup, can resume, is anybody’s guess given travel restrictions are likely to be in place for some time, and vary from country to country.



“CAF is already focused on the conditions for relaunching our competitions and our events,” Ahmad said in comments supplied to FORBES AFRICA.



“Never has a crisis of such great magnitude crossed the world, never has world sport decreed so many postponements of its programs and never has such a tsunami struck the most basic sporting practice.



“We are now condemned to rebuild the basics, or at least to reinforce them, to energize them so that at the time of recovery, we will be the best structured and best disposed to conquer or re-conquer, the dry territories of sport and football.



It is Ahmad’s way of saying that any thought of returning to pre-coronavirus levels of engagement and sponsorship are fanciful in the short-term, or perhaps even medium-term.



His suggestion of having to “rebuild the basics” is a key admission and will be the same for many sports that face a sponsorship vacuum from some of the world’s leading brands.



When airlines, major sponsors of African sport, have been laying off staff and cut their schedules to next to nothing, can they justify pumping millions of dollars into sport?



The same for car manufactures, loss-making banks and oil companies hit by the drop in the price of crude.



The health conditions to allow play for many sports in Africa may return this year, but the question is whether there will be the financial support vital to being able to play the game.



Selwyn Nathan, commissioner of South Africa’s Sunshine Tour and a leading expert on global golf, suggests the pandemic may return the sport to the year 2000 in terms of financial capabilities.



“It could be like starting a business all over again, you can’t have an attitude that people [sponsors] will just come back,” Nathan says.



“It’s not something unique to Africa, or sport anywhere in the world, but we are going to have to change the way we do things.



“Players will have to accept that they are not going to be playing for the same money, and organizers must accept they will have to ask for less [money] and possibly do more just to retain sponsors.



“It is going to fundamentally change the way we operate and we have to adapt to that.”



Winners in some co-sanctioned Sunshine Tour and European Tour golf events can earn upwards of $1.5-million per tournament, but Nathan believes those numbers will be fanciful for the foreseeable future and it is likely to be a fraction of that.



The pandemic could be the death knell for ailing Super Rugby, the southern hemisphere club championship that has been hanging on for dear life, as it was, due to dwindling interest and its format that sees players criss-cross the globe between Argentina, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Japan.



In the case of world champion Springboks, that could actually work in their favor and see them looking north to Europe for club and country competitions, where the TV revenues are greater and load on players less, according to respected Stormers coach John Dobson.



“I believe there will be a restructuring of the game and that could be at Super Rugby’s expense,” Dobson says. “There could be stronger focus on domestic competitions with less travel and more tailored for television, because ultimately, that is where you get the revenue to run the game.



“It’s critical you have a product that is appealing to rugby fans, and after this period, maybe that will rather involve South African teams playing in the [European] Heineken Cup. I don’t know, but something has to change.”



Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard, who is chairman of the APO Group, a communication and business consultancy in Africa, says he has seen first-hand the toll the virus has taken on sports federations almost across the board.



“I think, unfortunately, it will have a devastating effect for many. First of all, athletes cannot train properly and when you are at the level of international competition, just a few percentage points off can compromise your body,” he says.



“Added to that, there is no competition and the longer this goes on, the longer it will take for athletes to return to peak performances, so in the near term, you will have a poorer product for television and sponsors.”



Pompigne-Mognard says cross-border competitions are vital in Africa and it is in these multi-national tournaments where many federations across different sports make most of their revenue.



“Each African nation is unlikely to return to full health at the same time, so, for example, the Basketball Africa League, which involves 12 teams from across the continent has to be put on hold until travel is possible.



“It will go ahead, but the question is when and what are the financial consequences of this? It is something that we cannot quantify now, so we live in this state of uncertainty and that is not good for anybody, sport or business.”



The postponement of the Tokyo Olympic Games to 2021 has brought much relief for many athletes, who had seen their training regimes brought to a halt, or at best conducted in the confines of their own home.



Olympic gold medalist swimmer Chad le Clos had had to make do with what he has at home while in lockdown in South Africa, one of thousands of elite athletes from across Africa in similar situations.



“It is what it is and I am happy with the decision (to move the Olympics) that has been made,” Le Clos says. “I have a small pool at home, so I attach a cord that allows me to stay stationary as I swim.”



&nbsp;“We cannot afford to take a break, even in lockdown. You cannot let yourself lose the months and months of work that you have put into your body.



“I don’t know where or when I will compete again, but you have to stay positive. You have to hope for the best, that is all we can do.”



-Nick Said

Stadium background with a green grass pitch in the daytime

All Home And No Play: Not Since World War II Has The Global Sports Industry Faced Such A Crippling Crisis

Add another zero to soccer’s most expensive rivalry.



Cristiano Ronaldo earned $105 million before taxes and fees in the past year, landing him at No. 4 on the 2020&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;Celebrity 100, one spot above his top rival in the sport, Lionel Messi, and making him the first soccer player in history to earn $1 billion.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The 35-year-old striker is only the third athlete to hit mark while still playing following Tiger Woods, who did it in 2009 on the back of his long term endorsement deal with Nike&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/nike" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NKE</a>, and Floyd Mayweather in 2017, who’s made most of his income from a cut of pay-per-view sales for his boxing matches.&nbsp;



Ronaldo, the first to do it in a team sport, has made $650 million during his 17 years on the pitch, and is expected to reach $765 million in career salary after his current contract ends in June 2022. Messi, who began playing at the senior level three years after Ronaldo, has earned a total of $605 million in salary since 2005. The only team athlete to even come within striking distance of those figures was former New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez, who retired in 2016 after 22 years in MLB having earned $450 million in salary. Not even soccer legend David Beckham came close, ending his career with total earnings of $500 million, half of which came from off-pitch endorsements. 



“Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest players of all time, in the world&#8217;s most popular sport, in an era when football has never been so rich,” said Sporting Intelligence’s Nick Harris, whose Global Sports Salaries Survey ranks teams worldwide based on total salary expense. “He&#8217;s box office.&#8221;



Ronaldo and Messi’s head-to-heads heated up in Spain’s La Liga in 2009, where Ronaldo played for Real Madrid and Messi for Barcelona. Their faceoffs on the pitch ignited a nine-year battle for bragging rights as the best — and top-paid — in the sport, a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinasettimi/2019/06/18/the-worlds-highest-paid-soccer-players-2019-messi-ronaldo-and-neymar-dominate-the-sporting-world/#2f9e5b76b55e">highly personal</a> tit-for-tat that had them re-negotiating contracts in lockstep and monopolizing the game’s highlight reel. 



The rivalry was as entertaining as it was profitable, coming just as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2019/05/29/the-worlds-most-valuable-soccer-teams-2019/#1a0fa8ff40d6">clubs around the world</a>&nbsp;were seeing soaring attendance and an influx of television money. The two were perfectly matched for battle, on and off the pitch: Ronaldo perfected a shirtless, stylized showmanship while Messi played the quiet game, always a tad unkempt and as prolific a scorer as he was a wingman. Ronaldo strutted after every goal. Messi was a master at thanking his teammates.&nbsp;



Both backed it up. Barcelona won the La Liga title six times and two Champions Leagues trophies with Messi on the squad. Real Madrid won the Spanish title twice and the Champions League four times with Ronaldo. During their years in the league, each player nabbed four Ballon d’Ors (soccer’s MVP) and their El Classicos, the nickname for their clubs fierce clashes, were record-setting television events worldwide.&nbsp;



But when it came to leveraging celebrity, it has been no contest. Guided by Jorge Mendes of Gestifute, one of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbelzer/2019/10/21/most-powerful-sports-agents/#1cc52df93b27">world’s most powerful agents</a>, Ronaldo has amassed an ever-growing following of fans and consumers drawn to his poster-boy good looks, trend-setting hair styles, impeccable fashion sense and, lately, his softer side as a family man whose toddlers pop up on his social media posts. In January he became the first person with 200 million followers on Instagram, part of a social media army of 427 million across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter that makes him the most popular athlete on the planet.&nbsp;



Nike pays him upwards of $20 million annually and signed him to a lifetime deal in 2016, making him just the third athlete after Michael Jordan and LeBron James hitched to the Swoosh for eternity. In May, the footwear maker announced the release of a 10-year anniversary edition of his first signature Mercurial Superfly and a child’s version to celebrate his son’s 10th birthday, complete with his famous celebration stance, signature and logo. Pitches for Clear shampoo, Herbalife <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/herbalife" target="_blank">HLF</a>, and pharmaceutical maker Abbott help raise his endorsement tally to $45 million.



Ronaldo, Inc. even has a trademark — CR7, a mix of his initials and jersey number — part of a lifestyle brand that&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;estimates accounts for a quarter of his annual endorsement income, including branded underwear that debuted in 2013 that was followed by a line of shoes, fragrances and denim wear. He partnered with Pestana Hotel Group in 2015 to open his first property a year later in his hometown of Funchal, Madeira, right above Museu CR7, a shrine for his trophies and a retail outlet for his merchandise. He’s since added CR7 clubs with Crunch Fitness, posts workout routines on YouTube and has attached his name to a social media influencing degree offered by Italian online university eCampus.



And the rivalry is far from done.



Ronaldo’s 2020 earnings include a salary of $60 million, slightly less than last year due to a 30% pay cut he agreed to take this April as a result of the pandemic. Messi, who earned $104 million in the past year after taking a 70% pay cut while coronavirus sidelined play, is poised to surpass $1 billion in all-time earnings as soon as next year, before his current Barca contract ends.



&#8211;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinasettimi/">Christina Settimi</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sportsmoney">SportsMoney</a>

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Ronaldo’s $105 Million Year Tops Messi And Crowns Him Soccer’s First Billion-Dollar Man

The 22-year-old Japanese tennis player racked up $37 million in earnings in the past year, more than any other female athlete in history.



Naomi Osaka was only a year old when Serena Williams won her first grand slam title in 1999. Nineteen years later, Osaka beat Williams at the U.S. Open finals to win her first grand slam. It was one of the most controversial matches in Open history involving three code violations called against Williams. Now the 22-year-old ace has beaten her legendary rival once again, this time for bragging rights as the highest-paid female athlete in the world.



Osaka earned $37.4 million the last 12 months from prize money and endorsements, $1.4 million more than Serena, setting an all-time earnings record for any female athlete in a single year; Maria Sharapova held the prior record with $29.7 million in 2015.



Osaka ranks No. 29 among the 100 highest-paid athletes, while Williams is No. 33. It’s the first time since 2016 that two women have made the ranks of the top 100 highest paid athletes, with the full 2020 list set for release next week.



“To those outside the tennis world, Osaka is a relatively fresh face with a great back story,” says David Carter, a sports business professor at USC Marshall School of Business. “Combine that with being youthful and bicultural, two attributes that help her resonate with younger, global audiences, and the result is the emergence of a global sports marketing icon.”



The ascension puts an end to a decisive winning streak for Williams, who has been the world’s highest-paid female athlete each of the past four years, with annual pre-tax income ranging from $18 million to $29 million. The 23-time grand slam champion has collected almost $300 million during her career from endorsers who have swarmed the 38-year-old star.



Osaka’s rise to the head of the charts was a perfect&nbsp; convergence of several factors. She first proved herself on the court, with back-to-back grand slam titles at the 2018 U.S. Open and 2019 Australian Open. That plus her heritage—a Japanese mother and Haitian-American father—helped separate her from the pack; at only 20 when she won her Open title, she had a cool factor and engaging personality.



Osaka’s roots are crucial to her endorsement stardom. She was born in Japan. When she was three, she and her family moved to the U.S., settling on Long Island and then heading to Florida; older sister, Mari, also plays on the pro circuit.



She turned pro in 2014, a month before her 16th birthday. She cracked the WTA’s top 40 in 2016 and won her first title in March 2018 at Indian Wells. In the 12 months that followed, she became the first Japanese player to win a slam, and first Asian tennis player ever to be ranked No. 1 in the world.



Osaka maintains dual citizenship but made the wise choice to represent Japan ahead of the since-postponed Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics. The decision made her an even hotter commodity for Olympic sponsors, like Procter &amp; Gamble, All Nippon Airways and Nissin, who signed endorsement deals with Osaka to use her around marketing for the Games, now scheduled for summer 2021. She is expected to be one of the faces of the Olympics that had triggered<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.olympic.org/news/unprecedented-levels-of-excitement-around-the-olympic-games-tokyo-2020" target="_blank"> unprecedented levels of excitement</a> among the Japanese public before the coronavirus.



A Decade Of Highest-Paid Female Athletes



Tennis has been a winning strategy for highest-paid female athletes. Before Naomi Osaka arrived on the scene, Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams were the top earning women of the decade, holding the top spot for five and four years, respectively.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Tennis-earnings.png" alt="" class="wp-image-45395" width="688" height="447" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Tennis-earnings.png 755w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Tennis-earnings-300x195.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Tennis-earnings-600x391.png 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 688px) 100vw, 688px" /></figure>



The last top-earning female athlete, outside of Williams and Sharapova, was Serena’s sister Venus in 2003. Tennis remains the only route for women to rank among the top-paid male sports stars. Sharapova, Li Na, Serena, and now Osaka are the only females to rank among the 100 top earners in sports since 2012. The highest-paid female athlete every year since Forbes started tracking the data in 1990 has been a tennis player, with Steffi Graf and Martina Hingis the top earners most of the 1990s. 



Tennis players are walking billboards in the only major global sport where men and women have some level of equality in their paychecks, thanks to similarly sized audiences tuning in to watch tournaments. Prize money at the four grand slam events has been even since 2007, although men still earn more at lower level tourneys.



The demographics of the tennis fan make sponsoring top players attractive for brands. At the U.S. Open last year, attendance skewed in favor of women by a ratio of 56 to 44, a rarity at big time sporting events; 78% held at least a bachelor’s degree versus 35% for the U.S. overall; the average household income was $216,000. This is a group with significant disposable income, ready to buy apparel, sporting equipment, cars, watches and financial services.



Steering Osaka’s brand is tennis powerhouse agency IMG, which leaned on its history with breakout female tennis stars when Osaka started blowing up, having represented Maria Sharapova and Li. Stuart Duguid is her lead agent at IMG.



The apparel deal is almost always the biggest endorsement for tennis stars, and Osaka’s timing was perfect there as well, as she hit the open market just after winning two grand slams. It triggered a free agency bidding war between Nike and Adidas—her previous apparel sponsor. The Swoosh emerged on top and paid her more than $10 million last year in an agreement that runs through 2025.



Osaka secured an extremely rare but lucrative provision in her Nike contract. The sportswear giant always requires its tennis players to be clad in Nike gear from head to toe, without any other logos on their shirts or hats. This is lucrative real estate for marketers, as cameras focus closely on the player as they serve or get set to return serve.



Nike never made an exemption for Serena, Sharapova, John McEnroe, Andre Agassi or any of the other marketable tennis stars in their stable. The only exception until last year was China’s Li Na; Osaka was the second, thanks to massive leverage with Sharapova headed for retirement and Williams turning 39 this year. Her “patch” deals are with All Nippon Airways, MasterCard and ramen noodle maker Nissin Foods.



Nike plans to launch an Osaka streetwear line in Japan in the fourth quarter, featuring hoodies, leggings and shirts, as well as a new collection each season. There will not be any tennis apparel.



Osaka now has 15 endorsement partners, including global brands like Nissan Motor, Shiseido and Yonex, whose tennis racquets she has used for more than a decade; almost all are worth seven-figures annually.&nbsp;



Sharapova was 17 when she defeated Williams to win the 2004 Wimbledon crown. IMG quickly mobilized to lock up lucrative long-term deals for the Russian, who ranked as the highest-paid female athlete for 11 years before injuries and a suspension for taking a banned substance dented her earnings.



IMG got an education on marketing a female Asian tennis star with China’s Li. She was the first grand slam singles champion from Asia, man or woman, when she captured the 2011 French Open at age 29. IMG quickly secured seven multi-million deals, pushing her off-court earnings from $2 million to $20 million. She challenged Sharapova as the sport’s top earner until her retirement in 2014.



IMG used its expertise in Japan with Kei Nishikori, who has never won a grand slam but is the most successful Japanese male player ever, resulting in an endorsement portfolio worth $30 million a year.



Sharapova, Li and Nishikori paved the way for Osaka’s marketing breakthrough. “We were fortunate to have a very sophisticated office in Tokyo that already had the experience with Kei,” IMG’s head of tennis Max Eisenbud told&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;last year. “The relationships in that region are important.”



With plenty of endorsement cash, Osaka<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2019/08/23/business-is-booming-for-tennis-ace-naomi-osaka/#b711e54904de"> partnered with several brands</a> last year, with significant equity components, including emerging sports drink BodyArmor and Hyperice, which makes recovery and movement products.



BodyArmor marketing exec Mike Fedele says Osaka was one of inspirations for its “Only You” ad campaign&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/timnewcomb/2020/05/20/naomi-osaka-shares-on-endorsements-bodyarmor-her-struggles-and-cooking/#a06627639a84">launched this week</a>. “Naomi is fiercely dedicated to perfecting her game on the court and a huge part of that is what she does off the court with her training, nutrition and hydration,”he says.



“I’m really interested in seeing a young business grow and adding value to that process,” Osaka told&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;last year. “I tasked my team with finding brands that align with my personality and my interests.”



Brands are lining up to get into the Naomi Osaka business.



&#8211;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/">Kurt Badenhausen</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sportsmoney">SportsMoney</a>

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Naomi Osaka Is The Highest-Paid Athlete Ever, Topping Serena Williams

In the space of four months, a small group of athletes will have gone full circle – from the tough life in refugee camps, where sometimes food is rationed, to rubbing shoulders with the world’s most celebrated names in world-class facilities.
This is the strange reality for South Sudan’s Olympic athletes.
Being at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro for three weeks will be a completely new experience for these young athletes, who might never have got to the world’s largest sport event if they were not refugees.
Even their compatriots in South Sudan are stunned  how the athletes got access to an arena reserved for the crème de la crème of international sports.
Olympic Villages have world-class infrastructure, with beautiful apartments, paved roads, working sewerage systems, hospitals, and shopping centers.
For the five young men and women from South Sudan, this is a far cry from the refugee camps they come from. Here, the refugees live in tin-walled houses, with little sanitation. The camp is littered with long-drop toilets, although refugees prefer to use thickets and bushes, leading to the rampant outbreak of deadly diseases are rampant. They are conditions the majority of athletes at the Olympic Games will find unimaginable.
The civil war has destroyed South Sudan’s economy. Before the current bloodletting resumed in early July, the newly-formed Transitional Government of National Unity asked for international support to rebuild the country. The conflict has halved oil production which, coupled with the global decline in oil prices, has left the government short of cash.
Although better than living among warlords, life inside refugee camps is not for the faint-hearted. Roads are dusty and rough. Some schools within the camps have sports fields, but the lack of grass makes playing on them difficult.
These young athletes will leave these fields of dirt and be welcomed to Rio with roads lined with exotic flowers and trees. The Olympic Village’s gardens rivals those found in Buckingham Palace.
When those inside the Kakuma and Dadaab refugee camps heard their brothers and sisters would be at the Rio Olympics, they burst into ecstatic celebration. The five South Sudanese refugees were selected by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to form part of the first-ever Refugee Olympic Athletes team. The other athletes making up the 10-man team are two judokas from the Democratic Republic of Congo, a marathon runner from Ethiopia and two swimmers from Syria.
The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, says the team will raise awareness of the refugee crisis, which, according to the United Nations, stands at over 59 million displaced people.
“This will be a symbol of hope for all the refugees in our world, and will make the world better aware of the magnitude of this crisis. It is also a signal to the international community that refugees are our fellow human beings and are an enrichment to society,” says Bach.
Kenyan marathon legend Tegla Loroupe, who founded the Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation, identified the South Sudanese athletes that will make up the rest of the refugee team. They are Pur Biel Yiech (800m), James Nyak (400m/800m), Rose Nathike (800m), Angeline Nadai Lohalith (1,500m) and Paulo Amoton Lokoro (1,500m).
The athletes have tear-jerking stories. They fled to neighboring Kenya as civil war erupted in Africa’s youngest nation, where compatriots supporting rival leaders were tearing into one another with machetes and guns. Girls and women were raped, property vandalized and homes looted. Tens of thousands died and many more were displaced. The survivors, mostly orphans and widows, were forced to cross into Kenyan camps.
The athletes are unified in their call for peace. They say this would allow many more young South Sudanese to pursue their dreams – whether in academics, sport or business.
“I would be representing my country in the Olympics had there been peace in my country. While other athletes will be carrying their countries’ flags, which is an honor and prestige, we will be participating under the Olympic Flag. That is good, and we are grateful to the IOC for remembering refugees, but sometime in the future, I would wish to run under the South Sudanese flag,” says Lohalith, who left home in 2001 and reached Kakuma the following year.
Lohalith started running for fun while attending primary school inside the Kakuma camp. She was among those scouted by Loroupe and transferred to Nairobi for specialized coaching.
Lohalith believes the refugee team at the Olympics will inspire other displaced people, even if they don’t win medals.
“It will be the first time refugees are represented in the Olympics, which will inspire other refugees because they will realize that they are just like normal people,” she says.
Jackson Pkemoi, who is managing the team at the church-run Anita Children’s Home in Ngong, 20 kilometers south of Nairobi, says the athletes are not taking the selection for granted.
“It is never easy to make an Olympic team. These athletes appreciate that this is a godsend, an opportunity to join the rest of the world at the Olympics,” he says.
Lokoro is glad he will be able to represent the refugees he lives with in his camp.
“When the refugees, and our people at Kakuma camp, heard of this, they were proud and celebrated. They are happy for us,” says Lokoro.
Nathike, who escaped her war-ravaged country with her parents, is running to help those she left behind.
“My people are happy and praying that I perform well so that I can change their lives,” she says. “Since we have talent, this can help promote peace all over the world.”
Nyak sent a massage to warring factions.
“Fighting is not the right way for people to solve issues. The more people fight, the more young people who have talent run away from home. So those countries [that] have conflict have to sit down and see where the problem is because this affects so many countries,” he says.
While their competitors are running for gold, these athletes from South Sudan are competing for something more important – peace.

The Olympians Who Want Peace  More Than Gold

Strong powerful legs slam the tartan floor, each stride gaining an increasingly large distance from the rest of the field. Arms pumping gently, mouth slightly ajar, his body moves in a methodical rhythm. Suddenly, oozing a combination of grace and power, he quickens the pace, his eyes locked on the stopwatch ahead. A crescendo applause fills the stadium as he glides towards the finish line. “They’ve done it again,” the commentator roars, “Kenya takes the gold medal.” Heartfelt celebrations ensue as he fights against the post-race exhaustion. One man has an entire nation on its feet. Glory!
Every four years at the Olympic Games, an interpretation of this scene seems to occur in the track events. Since the incomparable Kipchoge Keino won two medals in Mexico in 1968, Kenyan athletes have dominated middle to long distance running at the Olympic Games.
While the Games are never without drama, the months preceding are usually fairly calm for athletes. This year was an exception. The months before the 2016 Rio Olympics proved to be arguably the most contentious period for Kenyan athletes in the nation’s Olympic history. From delayed legislation, to surprise Twitter announcements, Kenyan athletes and supporters rode a rollercoaster of emotions before the East African nation was finally given the green light to participate in the Games this August.
The strife first emerged at the beginning of the year when the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) announced that Kenya would be placed on a watch list. Stemming from a Wada report that was bolstered by more claims of bribery, extortion and Kenya’s legislation towards doping (or lack thereof), the country was in hot water. In February, Wada Director General David Howman stated
“Wada is most disturbed by these reports regarding extortion and bribery at the national level of sport,” said Wada Director General, David Howman, after claims that Athletics Kenya had asked two banned Kenyan athletes for a bribe in exchange for a shorter sentence.
Following these claims, the country missed two Wada deadlines to establish anti-doping legislation (February and April). The athletics powerhouse was officially at risk of being banned from the 2016 Games. In April, however, President Uhuru Kenyatta assured the nation that an Anti-Doping Bill would be passed by Parliament and that he would sign it into law before the May 2 deadline.
“There would be no excuse to deny [the Kenyan] team from participation in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in August,” said Kenyatta.
On April 22, Kenyatta signed the bill, which criminalized doping in Kenya. Kenyans were reassured that they would watch their heroes strive for Olympic glory once again.
Back in Kenya, athletes continued to train for the Games. In late April, the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) Athletics Championships took place on the outskirts of Nairobi. Winners would represent the KDF team, which would participate in the National Athletics Championships in July. This is where the Olympic fate of Kenya’s best athletes is decided.
Kenyan athletes also continued to excel internationally in the build-up to August. Scooping top spots in both the women’s and men’s races at the London Marathon, where Eliud Kipchoge beat the course record, Kenya’s athletes showed the world that they were able to remain focused despite the controversy.
More controversy was to come though. In May, Athletics Kenya announced the marathon squad to participate in the Olympics. The current holder of the marathon world record, Dennis Kimetto, wasn’t selected, sparking furious debate as sports enthusiasts put the doping controversy aside. Less than 72 hours later however, WADA would divert attention with the following statement: “The WADA CRC has made the unanimous recommendation that Kenya be declared non-compliant with immediate effect.” It claimed there were “inconsistencies” with the Kenyan legislation.
The news was a huge blow to the country, which believed it was on track for Rio.
“How is this happening? …I’m shocked,” said Keino, the former Olympic hero and Chairman of the National Olympics Committee of Kenya (Nock).
The rest of Kenya was just as flabbergasted. Many took to social media to express their disbelief and disappointment, including World Champion javelin thrower Julius Yego, who is an avid social media user (Yego learned how to throw the javelin by watching YouTube videos).
“It’s worrying and painful to remember the sacrifice, perseverance, dedication put towards achieving the success and ultimate goal and suddenly get [it taken away from] you! It’s heartbreaking and saddening!!” (sic),” said a perturbed Yego, who had been regularly updating his supporters through his Facebook page.
Yego’s words personalized a debate that had raged around the world for months. A blanket ban for Kenya would be disastrous for the country, but it would be devastating for the Kenyan athletes who were genuinely training hard to fulfil their Olympic ambitions come August 2016. Perhaps for the first time, Kenya started to envision an Olympics without its proud athletes participating.
Shocked into action, a couple of days later, a Kenyan delegation, with Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Amina Mohamed, and Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Hassan Wario, flew to Montreal, Canada, to meet Wada officials. Here Kenya agreed to a roadmap allowing the country to become fully compliant with Wada’s code after making amendments to the Anti-Doping Act. In addition to this, reports flooded in that while WADA had deemed Kenya non-compliant, the power to ban the country from Rio ultimately lay with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), which said that Kenya was eligible to participate in Rio, unless the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said otherwise. A collective sigh of relief could be heard in Kenya.
For now it appears that Kenya is in the clear, and while it is very evident that the issue of doping is a complex challenge that Kenya must urgently deal with, one can only wonder how prepared Kenyan athletes are. They need to put the drama behind them and represent their country at the Olympics with as much conviction as ever.

Heroes Almost Heartbroken

For 17 days, Rio de Janeiro will be the home to more than 10,000 athletes competing in the first Olympic Games on South American soil. It will also be the home of scores of African athletes, across 42 sports, hoping to claim one of 4,924 medals up for grabs.
Rio marks the second Olympics where social media will play a key role; London 2012 brought in 10 million tweets a day and was named the first social media Olympics. The International Olympic Committee expects of 3.6 billion viewers, of which 3 billion will be watching from their smartphones.
On this new technology will be one of the oldest sports. Golf will be returning after a 112-year absence. Another comeback sport will be rugby Sevens; the 15-man version of the game was last featured in Paris 1924, when the United States won gold.
With the beautiful sport comes the ugly – the finances. Brazil is suffering its worst recession in decades with inflation of 11%, reports Reuters. Protestors criticize the $9.6 billion price tag – which may rise even higher – two years after forking out $15 billion on the 2014 Fifa World Cup.
Olympic hosts have a long track record of breaking their budgets by an average of 176%, says a report by University of Oxford in 2012. This means Brazil could be looking at bill of $17 billion. The last Olympics in London cost an estimated $12.7 billion but the world’s most expensive Games was the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, which cost $51 billion.
Among the Africans competing for gold, at the cost of billions, is 22-year-old Nigerian woman freestyle wrestler Odunayo Adekuoroye.  You’ll find her story on page 20.
FORBES AFRICA also looks at the grace and controversy of Kenya’s runners.
Get the inside story of our FORBES AFRICA columnist, Kirsty Coventry, who is in Rio. We’ve also got the fastest man in 400 meters and an old man of the sea who saw his Olympic dreams die and come back to life. We look to the future African hopeful, William Mokgopo, who plans on biking his way to the top at Tokyo 2020.

Hopes, Dreams And Rising Costs

In August, 10,500 athletes from 206 countries will be at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The Brazilian city will play host to 42 sporting events, including the recently added golf and rugby sevens. Over the past four years I have been preparing for my swimming events. This equates to about 4,500 hours for a one to two-minute race. The Olympics is the biggest sporting event on the planet and hopeful Olympians around the world are in their final leg of preparations.
At this stage, athletes should have their foundations built and be fine tuning their training. There would have been large inconsistencies in previous years because of the many adaptations being made to find the big improvements. These last months should see more consistency as smaller, more refined, changes are made as coaches try and squeeze out every possible improvement in their athletes. As the consistency develops, so too does a strong and stable mind – a strength every Olympian is going to need. Persistent repetition in training will help create this consistency as well as build trust in themselves, which the athlete will need to prevent ‘choking’ – the word used to describe an increase in nerves, self-doubt and negative thinking. To get to this Olympic level there should be zero negativity in the mind of the athlete, coach or any other people surrounding the athlete. This is the responsibility of the athlete and the biblical story of Nehemiah highlights how important this is.
Nehemiah was a cup-bearer to King Artaxerxes. At a time when there were constant fears of plotting and intrigue, serving drinks at the royal table was an esteemed position because of the trust the king places on that person. When Nehemiah learned that the walls of Jerusalem needed rebuilding he asked the king for permission to repair the wall. Nehemiah made it his responsibility. He knew he couldn’t do it alone so he recruited reliable people who shared in the same vision as him. When others found out that they were going to rebuild the walls, Nehemiah and his team were mocked and ridiculed. When their enemies saw that these walls were being built, they set out to attack and destroy their work. However, the people Nehemiah had surrounded himself with prevented these attacks, which meant the walls continued to be built with little interruption.
Nehemiah trusted the people he surrounded himself with and refused to spend time on any issues that deviated from his goal. As important as it was to finish the wall, and as successful as Nehemiah became in doing so, he never undermined his values or integrity. Athletes are constantly faced with pressure from media, coaches, parents, friends as well as their own expectations. I have always surrounded myself by reliable and honest people, but with the Olympics drawing closer many athletes may feel they need to do ‘whatever it takes’ to win, even if that means doping or cheating. As important as winning is, a true athlete’s fundamental principle is to see how far their body can be pushed without cheating – this is the essence of being an Olympian.
Qualifying for the Olympics is a major milestone and the athlete gets to perform at the highest level in their sport. Too many athletes think that when the closing ceremony is performed and the final curtain is drawn their work is complete. But, just as Nehemiah used his success and experience from rebuilding the wall to continue benefiting the people of Jerusalem, it is also our responsibility to share our success and experience with others so they will become stronger and continue the cycle of promoting a better future for others.

How To Keep Your Head Above Water  Without Being a dope

In his autobiography, Andre Agassi states that tennis is the loneliest sport. He’s probably never been engulfed by the solitude of water! The fact is every sport is taxing on different levels, with demands that develop strengths in some areas over others. The common thread that binds us all together is our determination to never give up. To get through my training and competition I use the inspiration I find from people I can relate to, from whom I can draw strength.
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<h4>Passion: Chris, Dudley, Devon and Michael</h4>
One of my favorite movies, Cool Runnings, shows how passion can take the average athlete to an elite level. It’s what gets us up in the early hours, shields us from the non-believers, and inspires others to do what they love. A lack of experience, financial troubles, injury, negative media, and critics around the world did not stop the Jamaican bobsled team. Just as I became a successful swimmer from a landlocked country in Africa: Chris and Dudley Stokes, Devon Harris and Michael White came from a tropical island and competed at the Winter Olympics in 1988. Circumstances can dictate where we end up but if we are truly passionate about something, we can change our destiny.
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<h4>Courage: Jesse Owens</h4>
Every journey begins with an idea but starts with courage. In 1936, racial segregation in the United States was strong and Germany’s dictator, Adolf Hitler, was declaring that white people were superior. The young black American track and field athlete, Jesse Owens, was a champion on the field but marginalized off it. He would sleep in different hotels, travel on separate sections of the bus, and even lost endorsement deals because of the color of his skin. Owens not only had to overcome a rigorous training program but also this discrimination. However, his courage to continue in the face of adversity would turn him into one of the greatest athletes in history. He has been my inspiration ever since my first Olympics in Sydney in 2000, around the same time the political and economic turmoil began in Zimbabwe. Owens won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. He helped bridge the racial divide by proving that everyone can be equal, as an athlete he was superior.
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<h4>Commitment: Paula Newby-Fraser</h4>
If you have the courage to take an opportunity, and are passionate and committed, you will succeed. As a female athlete, Newby-Fraser is someone I admire because of her commitment to the most grueling single day race in the world. The Ironman is a 3.8-kilometer swim, 180-kilometer cycle and 42-kilometer run. She competed for Zimbabwe from 1985 to 1996 standing on the World Championship podium 11 years in a row, winning eight gold, one silver and two bronze medals. As the most decorated Ironman athlete in the world, she has proven just how hard we can compete at this level over a long period of time.
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<h4>Focus: Nick Price</h4>
Zimbabwean golfer, Nick Price, is putting on the 18th hole. Everything is intensely quiet. I am part of the millions of people watching from around the world. What is he thinking about, how does he handle the pressure from all those cameras and spectators, how does he handle the pressure within himself? I was young and in awe of ‘Uncle Nick’. Growing up, I used to imagine the same quiet, the same million people watching me, and the same pressure while I stood on the starting block. Before I knew it, I had started clearing my mind from all the clutter. I learned that focus is not about the ‘18th hole’ but about the countless hours you train to develop the trust you need for that short period of clarity. If you can trust your training then you can focus on the present and do what you need to.
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<h4>Positivity: Natalie du Toit</h4>
Natalie du Toit is a swimming champion, legend, remarkable person and a friend. She is a year younger than me so we would often compete against each other. At the age of 14, she had already qualified to compete for South Africa at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur. After missing the qualifying times for the 2000 Sydney Olympics, she dedicated her training for Athens four years later. But in 2001, on her bike to training early one morning, Du Toit was hit by a car and her leg had to be amputated. I cannot imagine what she went through. This didn’t prevent her from doing what she loved, and a year later Du Toit won gold at the Commonwealth Games. She continued hauling in medals during the Athens, Beijing and London Paralympics. She has since retired but, knowing how demanding our training is and what she had to overcome, Du Toit will always be one of my heroes.
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<h4>Confidence: Muhammad Ali</h4>
All athletes train hard. What separates us at the end of the day is the ability to take a knock, stand up, and still believe that we are stronger than our opponent. Even after he stopped boxing, Ali believed he was the greatest. My admiration for Ali is so strong that I took up boxing as an alternative exercise to swimming. You have to remember to breathe, and block, and hook, and move, and weave, and jab. If you have no confidence going into the fight, or it falters while you’re in there, you’re finished. Ali’s confidence gave him the ability to lead, inspire and teach. He chose to be a good role model. Ali is to sport what Nelson Mandela is to mankind – ‘the Greatest’.
We all have the potential to do extraordinary things and inspire others, but it has to become a way of life. The path to success is not a trend, you need to be a positive and focused person for the commitment required, confident and brave to overcome the inevitable challenges, and passionate to keep enjoying what we do. There are no excuses.

The Idols That Inspire

With almost a year until the Olympic Games in Rio, athletes are preparing to perform on the world’s greatest sporting platform. Our weeks are not measured by days but by number of training sessions. Citius, Altius, Fortius is not just the Olympic motto, it is our lifestyle and we are doing everything to become ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger’.
Our training and competitions have been improving, quietly, over the past three years. Like gladiators working hard in the dungeons, we have been building our strength, shaping our bodies, and preparing our minds. As the time draws near for us to perform in front of billions, curiosity rises among the crowds, eager to know what they can expect to see.
Science in sport has increased dramatically and the older, more brutal, Spartan ways of training have been superseded by smarter methods of quality rather than quantity. Brute strength alone does not have a place in modern day competition. The athlete of today requires natural talent, an inborn competitive nature, instinctive decision-making abilities, and the strength of mind to continuously overcome difficult challenges.
In addition to the above, athletes need a passion for their sport and dedication to training. Over the last few years, I have been religiously building a strong physical foundation. My workouts have focused on full body and functional exercises to develop a base that will be strong enough to withstand the next phase of my training – perfecting my race. I don’t believe I have ever swum my perfect race and I am beginning to believe one can never swim a perfect race, but I aim to be as close to perfect as possible. This means every tiny detail must become as natural as breathing: the split-second explosive start, fast turns, efficient strokes, perfect technique and powerful kicking. There is no time to think what must be done; it should have already been done.
For this to happen every hour of the day must be accounted for. This includes:
Swim training: 50-60km per week
Gym Workouts: 4-6 hours per week
Other Workouts (Barre Class): 2 per week
Nutrition: 5 meals per day (plus snacks)
Sleep: 7-8 hours per night
Rest: 1-2 hours of sleep per day
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Unbelievable goals will be set to increase our failures, destroy our confidence, and reduce us to tears. We will be hammered into shape and mentally manipulated by our coaches to push us past our breaking points. It is physically demanding. Sleep is essential. I always arrive early, day after day to face the same grueling beat down. I will be drained by the thought of how much there is still to do and drained by my coach’s rigorous requests. But, suddenly, I will get the goal we are after and the tears will stop, the pain will go away, and my confidence will skyrocket. Then, my coach will tell me to do it all over again.
Athletes can generally handle pressure extremely well but as the Olympics approach, stresses need to be managed. They have to be reduced as these can have big impacts on our focus. Creating a good entourage will help manage these pressures, increasing the possibility of success. This includes:
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My friends and family helping to take the pressure off by having fun
My coaches ensuring I have the best program to follow
My teammates challenging me and keeping me focused
My sponsors ensuring I have the tools necessary to train and compete
My fans encouraging me
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It is because of this support; my passion and experience, that I have managed to go from no ranking to top 20 in the world this year. I even swam my fastest time in one of my events, breaking the African record, but this is still not good enough. I have to get stronger, I have to get leaner, and I have to be fitter than I have ever been in my life and that is just to make it into the semi-finals.
Enhanced training techniques, fierce competition, and the quest for glory have created athletes who are swimming faster, jumping higher, and performing stronger which could make the Rio Olympics quite possibly the most exhilarating Games ever; and I will be a part of it.

Drained, Weeping And In Pain Towards The Gain

Eric Lawson portrayed the Marlboro Man – the iconic strong rugged man, with cowboy hat, piercing eyes and chiseled jaw, who was always holding a cigarette. This year, Lawson  became the third Marlboro actor to die of a smoking-related disease. The world has changed since smoking was advertised as the cool thing to do. Today, there is an increase in healthy options, even in fast food restaurants. Coffee shops are filled with the ‘athletic mum’ and her ‘workout friends’; healthy living is now a booming multibillion-dollar industry.
Companies realize the importance and profitability in marketing a healthy lifestyle. This lifestyle has become synonymous with strength, responsibility, sacrifice, and success. Companies sponsor athletes who embody these values to attract consumers to their products.
As with any partnership, sponsorship should be mutually beneficial. The athlete must be able to focus on training and competition, and sponsorship can provide the security they need. This ensures that their living costs are covered, including buying training equipment or travelling to competitions. In return, the sponsor receives brand enhancement and product awareness that could develop new or niche markets. It differentiates themselves from their competitors, increases overall sales and even contributes to goodwill in the community.
These are all valuable, but there are also pitfalls to sponsorships from both perspectives.
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Sponsor’s Perspective
<ol>
<li>Athlete integrity: With increased social media, athletes are under the microscope more off the field than on it. Without integrity, the potential for a negative image created by an athlete’s behavior is increased.</li>
<li>Athlete effort: An athlete has to put work into marketing their sponsor. An idle athlete (or athlete’s manager/agent) can create high costs for the company with little return.</li>
<li>Lack of control: With injury, illness, or a sudden lack of performance or drop in rankings, a once high profile athlete may no longer be an effective marketing tool. However, a good role model can continue representing a company even after they have retired from playing sport.</li>
<li>Brand diffusion: Do other companies or individuals sponsor your athlete? Are they reputable? Are there too many sponsors involved that limit the effectiveness of your athlete’s brand? Are you the main sponsor that receives the most benefits?</li>
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Athlete’s Perspective
<ol>
<li>Sponsor’s integrity: Just as important as an athlete’s integrity and as with many of these points, it works both ways. As an example, if an athlete is endorsing a company that is found to be using child labor, the athlete will be seen as promoting it.</li>
<li>Sponsor’s demands: These must be realistic and allow the athlete to focus on what they are supposed to do – train and compete. The athlete must also learn to manage their time to accommodate their obligations to the sponsor.</li>
<li>Sponsor’s technology: I was under contract to swim for a swimsuit company because they had the best product at the time. My contract stated that should my rankings drop, so would my income. The sponsor failed to keep up with technology and its competitors came out with a better suit. Despite that, I remained loyal and went on to break the world record.</li>
<li>Other athletes: The sponsor may have five other athletes and choose to market them more than you. Due to your exclusive relationship with the sponsor your branding could take a back seat. It is important that the athlete does not solely rely on the sponsor for marketing, but builds marketing campaigns and branding efforts to increase their own visibility and value.</li>
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Great sponsorships are the result of strong relationships backed by good communications. A clear contract should be developed with the above considerations taken into account, including exit strategies for ‘what if’ scenarios.
The increasing trend for active and healthy lifestyles places greater importance for athletes to endorse products. Companies need to find an athlete that fits with their philosophy and shares their values. Companies can find these athletes by looking for those with a winning record or great potential, but companies should choose these athletes based on personality, uniqueness, being a good role model, and their relationship with fans.
This will avoid any potential pitfalls and allow the magic of sport to keep us entertained.

The Good And Bad Of Being An Ad

Today’s anti-doping mantra is less about fighting the war on doping than it is about protecting those that matter in the world of sport from doping behavior: the clean athletes.
Eighteen months ago, the world’s anti-doping community met in Johannesburg to agree a new way forward for clean sport; an improved set of rules that would aid world sport in its bid to be clean. The rules, which came into effect at the start of this year, had the full backing of the people they are specifically designed to serve: the world’s athletes. After all, it is the clean athletes that are directly affected when another athlete chooses to dope; and, furthermore, it is the public who are robbed of true, fair sport when an athlete chooses to dope. Doping is not something any of us want to see.
Too often, when a doping scandal rears its head, people turn to sport for an immediate solution. Ever since we have had a collaborative global response to doping – through the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) – it has been the responsibility of both sport and governments to take action. As an athlete and someone that is widely involved in anti-doping through the Wada Athlete Committee, I can see only too clearly the areas where governments and sport should act.
Sport is a hugely lucrative business. The win-at-all-costs mentality that pervades all areas of society is particularly evident in sport, and it is through this prism that we often forget just how far some athletes will go to win. Often these athletes have huge influences around them; doctors, coaches or other members of their personal entourage influencing them in the wrong way. With sport as profitable as it is in this day in age, these entourage members have large financial incentives linked to an athlete’s success.
Wada, and the sporting and anti-doping organizations practicing its global anti-doping rules, can do a great deal to help maintain a level playing field. We run education and awareness programs; provide tools and courses on why doping is not the right course of action; and conduct innovative science and social science research that keep the clean sport movement one step ahead of the cheats. These are but a few ways that Wada and its signatories do their part, but they cannot do it all. It is the governments of the world – through the UNESCO international convention against doping of which they are parties – that have the power to touch areas that sport cannot reach. Sport needs the active participation of governments in order to push anti-doping higher up the agenda.
Doping and its impact on public health is one area of increasing concern. Drugs are being illegally produced, trafficked and distributed across the world and, ultimately, getting into the hands of athletes and members of the public, too. If governments could introduce laws and penalties to stop this, there would be less risk of these dangerous substances reaching those playing elite and, increasingly, non-elite level sport.
There is also the matter of dietary supplements. We are hearing more and more about youngsters, and those working out in gyms and practicing sport at an amateur level, using supplements. We are seeing this problem become more normal in society, which is a huge worry. The supplement industry is a global industry and not something that Wada, nor sport, can tackle alone. If governments took appropriate action to regulate the supplement industry, it would be a huge stride in the right direction.
Above all, what is needed is better education. The tools are there to help educate athletes – and aspiring athletes – about the dangers of doping. Education is an area that is well emphasized for sport and anti-doping organizations to practice in the revised World Anti-Doping Code. Education needs to cover all matters, from the dangers associated with doping, to athlete rights and responsibilities when it comes to anti-doping, and preventative educational measures that explain to future generations why doping is the wrong option.
In Africa, we know that there are big challenges and opportunities for governments to deal with – health systems, housing crisis, poverty, inequality, unemployment, education, (socio-political realities), war and famine – but we shouldn’t forget what a powerful magnet sport is for society. Sport, and its fair play values, binds us together like nothing else. It is only with the support of governments that we can maintain the sporting values we all hold so dear.

Don’t Be A Dope

Athletes do not have a choice about being role models. The only choice we have is whether we are going to be good role models or bad ones.” This was part of a speech by British basketball player John Amaechi at the Peace and Sport conference in Monaco in 2011.
Listening to Amaechi speak about the good a role model can do, I kept thinking back to Tiger Woods’ extramarital affairs. According to FORBES, Woods was the first athlete to make over $1 billion back in 2009. Since then, we have had the Lance Armstrong doping saga and the Oscar Pistorius Valentine’s Day shooting. These are top earning athletes who have inspired people and given back to society. However, they lacked integrity. Integrity gives longevity to success and fame.
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I never had a sporting role model when I was growing up because most of our stars were playing internationally and were never available. I didn’t have that person I could reach out to that would tell me just how tough my life was going to be yet motivating me to go for it anyway. Being a good role model is about having solid moral principles that guide behavior on and off the field. Role models make themselves available to spend time with people, to share their stories of success and overcoming challenges. They share their secrets in the hope of molding greater athletes and greater people. One person I look up to is Strive Masiyiwa, the Founder and Chairman of Econet Wireless. He may not be an athlete but he shows the responsibility that comes with success and this is guided by his ethics. Education for everyone is his aspiration.
Sport used to be everything to me. Now that I’m older and will soon be retiring from competition, I realize how significant education is. Sport must never take the place of education – it must assist with it. I was always an average student at high school but when I got to university I started applying the lesson I learned from training in my education. The sacrifices I had to make, believing that I could do it and my perseverance started paying off. The year I won my first Olympic gold was the same year I graduated as an ‘A’ student. Understanding what is important and highlighting your priorities is essential in conveying your message to others.
Motivational speaking is a love I found through sport because I’ve seen how it lifts people’s spirits and gives them the attitude they need to go forward. A priority of mine is speaking to children, to help motivate and guide them. I am often introduced as one of Africa’s greatest Olympians and am expected to tell you that it is okay if you are not great at school work because you can always become a sports star. I throw protocol out the window and very politely let the children know that this is wrong. Four months before my fourth Olympic Games in London 2012, I dislocated my patella and then two months later contracted pneumonia. This was a wake-up call for me and I suddenly thought that I might not make the Olympics. It was one of the most physically challenging times in my career but it made me grateful for the education I received. I had a contingency plan if the injury prevented me from ever playing sport again.
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Whoever we are, someone is always watching our behavior: a parent, a son or daughter, a brother or sister, a friend or even a person you have never met. Michael Phelps, the greatest Olympic athlete and a fellow swimmer, has recently been caught drinking and driving. This has nothing to do with swimming but because of his responsibility as a role model, he has been pulled off the United States swimming team for six months. This will take the spotlight off him until he can figure out what is important. It will also allow those who look up to him to realize there are consequences for your actions, no matter who you are.
We are all role models to someone. If we can maintain our integrity and become successful, we will not only be able to sustain ourselves but more importantly continue helping others.

What To Do When The Dream Breaks Down

What else could brother and sister, both professional athletes, do other than compete?
“You mean a squash match between me and her? I am in. I have been waiting for this, I have a score to settle here,” says the little brother.
“Come let’s go warm up,” says the big sister.
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“You’re the one who needs a warm-up, I am warmed. I’ve come from a practise an hour ago,” says little brother.
This was South Africa’s women squash champion Siyoli Waters and her younger brother Luvuyiso Lusaseni, a professional rugby player with the Lions Rugby Union in Johannesburg. This keen encounter at the Wanderers squash courts, in Johannesburg, was a legacy of competitive teenage days, back in East London, in the Eastern Cape.
“I was in boarding schools most of my life, whenever I came home in December I trained with friends. When he was about 11 years old, he joined in and each year he would say ‘when you come back again my arms will be bigger than yours,’… My brother plays for the Lions now, I am so proud of him. He has a good head on his shoulders,” says Waters.
“We always woke up at about 4 o’clock and go for a nice jog. It was a very friendly and fun competition. It kind of motivated me. It was inspiring to see the work that she was putting in to get where she was and where she wanted to be. At that point, I didn’t have any idea what I wanted to play, but I think she ignited my love for sport,” says Lusaseni.
Thirty-one year-old Waters was a late bloomer. In 2009, she turned professional and was ranked 279 in the world. She is now ranked 34 and number one in South Africa. This is a spot she has held since June 2013. In August, she was in Johannesburg to defend her title at the South African National Championships.
“I have achieved what I achieved, but I would love teaching others to do it with me. I would love to bring others along. It’s very clear to me, if you are trailblazing you should have other people following the trail. You cannot be on your own; then something is wrong,” says Waters.
“When it comes to accolades and family gatherings, maybe I felt a little pressure to bring something to the table,” says Lusaseni.
Standing at 1.96 meters and 110 kilograms, the 26-year-old is a lock forward. His sister stands 1.7 meters tall. Lusaseni was in the South Africa Schools rugby team in 2006 and represented his country in the IRB World Championships in 2008. Playing for the Springboks is the next step.
The two are worlds apart when it comes to sport and physique. They are one when it comes to competition.
Was there ever sibling rivalry?
“I always think of Serena and Venus Williams. Whatever the world thinks about them, those are sisters, one would win and one would lose, but because they managed their sibling rivalry, not only were they both able to be world champions, by working together they were able to rise far above the rest of the competition. Their story is fantastic, I use it often to encourage young kids not to quit,”
says Waters.
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In South Africa, professional squash is little known and sponsorship is scarce. It was only in 2013 that Waters secured a two-year sponsorship to pay her passage to international events. Before then, Waters juggled her career and coaching to pay her way in Cape Town.
“The fact that I am a champion today, I think its testimony that South African squash has been always open to transformation. As a teenager I felt like I was welcomed in squash community. That’s probably why I chose squash over tennis. In my time, multiracial schools produced a lot of black players but unfortunately they were lost in the university stages. It’s a money issue. You would rather be an accountant than a squash player.”
Waters had made peace with the fact that the sport she fell in love with will not make her a multimillionaire. But she enjoys the travel.
“I have been to every continent in the world except South America. It helped me discover that I have a love for languages though I have studied science. Squash tours are similar to tennis tours; they require monthly traveling around the world. I love playing in Malaysia; you get a sense that squash is a spectator sport. They have adopted squash as one of the major sports in the country,” she says.
Although Waters campaigned for the inclusion of squash in the Olympic Games in 2016, it remains unclear if she will ever play for her country on sport’s biggest stage. Waters missed out on the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in August. Her disappointment was huge and she is still waiting for an explanation. So is FORBES AFRICA, repeated attempts to speak to Paene Galane, a spokesperson in the sports ministry, proved fruitless.
But this does not seem to bother Waters who represents players on the South African squash committee. Since age is catching up with her, she says her focus is on slotting into the world top 20 and going to the 2020 Olympics as a coach.
“It’s important sharing what I know, especially as one of the few black squash players in the country. I need to be a role model for my sport,” says Waters.
Waters also won provincial colors in hockey, tennis and athletics at junior level, but sport is not her only talent. She met her husband in church with a song on her lips.
“It was funny that it wasn’t sport that brought us together. I was impressed by her voice in the church band. But it was later that I discovered her sports talent,” says Dave Waters, her husband who runs the Africa Soccer Development academy in Cape Town and Johannesburg.
The big arms did not help Lusaseni to settle old scores on the squash court as he lost heavily. But few would take up the challenge of a return match on the rugby field.

Sister Squash vs Brother Lion

East African athletes are renowned for the awards they have collected due to their legs. Ethiopian and Kenyan runners are world-record holders across distances from the marathon to the mere 800 meters. Now, there is another sport for which they are flexing their muscles: cycling.
Rwanda is the unlikely candidate leading the bike boom. Five years after Jonathan ‘Jock’ Boyer – the first American to participate in the Tour de France – set up Team Rwanda, the country sent its first cyclist to the Olympic Games.
Adrien Niyonshuti – a survivor of the genocide that killed six of his brothers and a million other countrymen – rode in the mountain biking event. He was placed 39th of 40 riders, but that hardly mattered because he put Rwandan cycling on the map.
Niyonshuti is now a professional rider contracted to South African team MTN Qhubeka, which competes at events across five continents, including Niyonshuti’s home country in the Tour of Rwanda.
The race is 25 years old and this year, for the first time, it is set to launch a women’s version. Should the plan come to fruition, it will be the first major stage race for women on the African continent.
The wheels to turn cycling from a mode of transport into a competitive sport were put in motion by complete chance. In 2006, Boyer was lured to Rwanda by a childhood friend, Tom Ritchey, a bicycle frame designer and builder, who had traveled to the country. Like many foreigners who came to the country after the genocide, he wanted to serve the people and had a skill that could benefit them.
Ritchey had an association with American businessman Daniel Cooper, who was involved with Starbucks. Rwandans transported their coffee harvest on foot or by single speed Chinese bicycles. Cooper wanted to make the process more efficient. Ritchey designed a special cargo bicycle with an elongated rear to distribute through a non-profit start-up called Project Rwanda.
Their masterpiece was to be unveiled at a rally, the Wooden Bike Classic, which would feature races between cyclists, taxis and motorbikes and, for the first time, a mountain bike race. Niyonshuti, who was 15 at the time, won the climbing event. Boyer was impressed with the teenager’s potential and promised to return, but few believed him.
The following February, true to his word Boyer came back and started recruiting a team. He tested cyclists and selected the top 10 for intensive training. Niyonshuti was among them. A month later, Boyer handpicked him to complete in the Cape Epic, the biggest professional mountain bike event in the world that is held in South Africa. Boyer and Niyonshuti raced as a team and finished 33rd out of a field of 607.
That was how the concept of Team Rwanda took off. The coffee-carrying vehicles formed part of the broader project. They were sold at cost, usually on credit, to vendors, while the professional cycling arm was to make itself financially viable through donations and eventually corporate sponsorship.
Money has dripped in and the aim is to assemble a team that will compete at the Tour de France.
“Everything is progressing towards seeing an all-African team at the Tour de France. It will not be an all-Rwandan team but a team made up of riders throughout the continent,” Kimberly Coats, Team Rwanda’s director of marketing and logistics told Forbes Woman Africa.
“Federations across Africa are getting more involved and putting more money into cycling. What we need most is money, financial support and a commitment to sponsorship from local, national and international companies. The future of cycling is Africa, it’s now time to invest in this continent’s young talent.”
For the same reason, Team Rwanda has not been able to extend itself to women just yet.
“With our limited budget and the lack of races in Africa, we have focused on the men,” says Coats.
But if interest levels are anything to go by, Rwandan women are enthusiastic about cycling despite the difficulties they face in participation.
“Culturally, it’s not like America, where girls grow up playing sports and it’s okay. The girls in Rwanda grow up working in the fields, taking care of numerous siblings, dropping out of school early and then starting a family of their own. Sport isn’t something that they even think about,” says Coats.
Gender inequality affects much of the region and continent. Cast an eye to western Kenya’s Kisumu county, where a hotly-debated law could see women forced to sit sideways on motorcycles and bicycles because it is considered improper for them to straddle.
“Bicycles have brought a culture that is really demeaning to our women,” says Kisumu county assembly member Caroline Owen.
With attitudes like that, it is understandable why women are reluctant to take up sport in some areas, but in Rwanda the trend is catching on. Cricket is played widely, especially at schools. There are 10 institutions with established women’s teams and an inter-school tournament, sponsored by an Indian family, was introduced in February of last year.
Stories like these give hope to Rwandan women cyclists, that soon they too may receive the funding they need to race. They already have the support of the Rwandan Cycling Federation (RCF) and hold monthly races, in which women participate. In November 2011, the runlikeagirl.com blog reported that one of those events drew 84 female participants including Angelique Mukanekezi, who caught the interest of Boyer and Coats. She is part of their training program, which is slowly growing to accommodate women.
In March 2012, the national federation held a 40 kilometer race exclusively for women. Over 100 women took part.
“One of our objectives this year is to develop the sport among women so that we have a national team of women cyclists,” says Emmanuel Murenzi, executive secretary of the RCF.
The country is getting there. Last year, Rwanda sent two women to the Continental Championships in Egypt. The men’s team took bronze in the overall event and the two women finished 8th and 10th in the women’s junior event out of a field of 15. Their progress was hailed by Murenzi, who promised that this year they will up their game even further.
The next and biggest step will be to hold a women’s Tour of Rwanda and Coats sees no reason why that boundary cannot be breached. She also believes in Team Rwanda’s ability to cross borders. They have been asked to expand their project to Ethiopia and Eritrea and if they can find the funding. Soon, the men and women of East Africa will have another discipline to stretch their legs for.

Tag: Athletes

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