Cape Town - This is not how it is supposed to be. Thulani Sibisi’s absence from the Two Oceans Marathon weekend is an anomaly for the “world’s most beautiful marathon”. After all, this is the race ambassador who has been present in the Mother City every Easter weekend since 2014.
But such are the ravages of prostate cancer that the man who won the 56km ultra race back in 1986 was absent from the race expo all this week for runners to “take selfies with the champion”. The media corps did not have the luxury of getting his “expert quote” for their race previews at the elite runners’ pre-race conference yesterday. And there will be no “educated analysis” of the race when the runners come in at the UCT campus finish line today either.
Perhaps most “ravaging” of all, though, is the fact that Sibisi will not even get to see the race that has “helped save my life” on the television.
“I can’t watch Two Oceans this weekend, mhlonishwa,” he lamented. “You know that ASA (Athletics South Africa) has given all the broadcast rights to Supersport and as a 70-year-old pensioner I cannot afford DStv. It is very disappointing what has happened because we say sport unifies people, but how can it do that when the majority of the people are denied the opportunity to watch it? I am surprised that the government, which funds the SABC, sees nothing wrong with athletics not being televised on the public broadcaster platform.”
The broadcast rights issues are but just one of many battles that keep Sibisi awake, his biggest concern being the fact that the Asa/supersport deal has taken the so-called “People’s Race” that is the Soweto Marathon – which he was a co-founder of back in 1991 – from “the people”.
Sibisi has fought bravely against prostate cancer since his late diagnosis in 2012, but the past few weeks have been rough.
“My back is sore, mhlonishwa. I can’t bend or walk straight,” he said, groaning. “I was at the doctor the other day and he told me that the cancer is growing very severely.”
Your #TTOM2023 top 10 men and women through the 8.9km split on the Ultra. #Totalsports #KeepPushing #QhubekekaDeUfike pic.twitter.com/zxJO3R0vPO
Even in his dire situation Sibisi continues to think more about and wants to fight for others.
While appreciative of the support he has been getting from the Two Oceans Marathon since his diagnosis, the man who grew up in Newcastle, Kwazulu-natal was thinking he was less deserving, and laments that legends of the Two Oceans such as the dearly departed Vincent Rakabaele and Thompson Magawana, as well as Hosea Tjale, did not get any recognition.
“Of course, Two Oceans is very special to me and just being there means a lot to me because of just how much care the organisers have for me. I would not have been able to battle against this cancer the way I have if it were not for their support. But I wish that guys like Thompson and Vincent had also been given this kind of support and honour. Those guys were excellent at Two Oceans,” he said of the two-time record-breaker Magawana and the first black champion of the race, Rakabaele.
“It was because of Vincent’s and even Hosea Tjale’s achievements that some of us began to believe we could achieve something at big races such as Two Oceans. Before their victories we always thought that the white guys were better than us. But these guys showed us that we are also capable of success.
WATCH: Thousands made an early start at this years Two Oceans Marathon #TTOM2023
— IOL Sport (@IOLsport) April 15, 2023
📹: Phando Jikelo/Africa News Agency/ANA pic.twitter.com/NMg3lwaHr6
“It was painful to hear that Vincent died and not many of us were aware of it for a long time. Thompson’s records were just incredible and such achievements deserve some kind of honour.”
As he reminisces about those great feats, Sibisi says he is pained that the country is failing to produce great times – particularly in the standard marathon.
“I just wish that the current athletes can run better times in standard marathons so we can compete in the big events such as the Olympics and the world championships. And we have the resources to beat the Kenyans and the Ethiopians, but I just don’t get what it is that is preventing us from winning.
“The fact that we used to have athletes winning the major marathons and running world-class times in the tough years of apartheid tells me we have the talent as a country.”
Sibisi then challenged the custodians of the sport to make a change.
“ASA must sit down and do a proper introspection. We have no reason why we can’t run those fast times. But I think the key is to stop the young athletes from moving into the ultras too early. The reason Gert Thys and
Hendrick Ramaala ran great marathon times was that they did not rush to the ultras. Look at how well Stephen Mokoka is doing in marathons. He is a great example of how athletes should develop.”
Sibisi believes an athletics “bosberaad” that would result in input from current and former athletes, as well as world-renowned experts in the sport putting ideas together on how to help improve the sport, is the way to go.
“We can build a project to help us improve our marathon standing in the world. Nothing stops ASA from inviting the likes of Paul Tergat and Haile Gebrselassie to share their expertise with us. There is a guy called Bobby Mcgee, who is a South African but he is in Colorado training American marathoners. Let’s ask government and the Department of Sports to bring such people here and put them in a room with the likes of Ramaala and Mokoka and other running coaches to share ideas.
“We have the talent and the resources to be great in marathons, we just need to have the will to make the effort. And the onus is on ASA to lead this.”
There can be no denying that Sibisi has done his bit for running, having given his time to educate runners about the dangers and ways to deal with the prostate cancer that sees him being a shadow of the strapping, top athlete who won the Two Oceans Marathon back in 1986. A pity he is missing this year’s edition.
@Tshiliboy