African Hall of Fame inducts SA athletes

[TheEd]

The Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) has given due recognition to top African athletes by inducting them into the first ever African Athletics Hall of Fame South Africans Josiah Thugwane, Marius Corbett and Jacques Freitag were among the thirty-five inductees who were honoured by the CAA, Africa’s governing body for athletics.

The induction of the athletes took place at a gala ceremony in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Tuesday night, the eve of the opening of the 16th African Athletics Championships.

Speaking at the event, Freitag, a former world high jump champion, expressed his delight at being acknowledged. "It does a lot of justice to the sport to see people that have achieved so much be acknowledged in such a way," he said.

Twenty-six year old Freitag is the first South African athlete to have won gold medals at the IAAF Senior (2003), Junior (2000) and Youth Championships (1999).

Marathon runner Thugwane became South Africa’s first black Olympic gold medallist when he won the Marathon at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Corbett currently holds the African record for javelin throwing after winning a gold medal at the 1998 Commonwealth Games. Corbett also won the gold medal at the 1997 World Championships.

The South Africans were honoured alongside top African athletes including Ethiopia’s long distance runner Haile Gebrselassie, who broke 25 world records; Namibia’s first Olympic medallist Frankie Fredericks and Maria Mutola of Mozambique who is considered one of the world’s best 800m track competitors with 13 gold medals in various world championships.

The 35 inaugural inductees were chosen from a list of 75 former and reigning Olympic and world champions and world record holders.

The CAA’s President Hamad Kalkaba Malboum said the occasion of the induction of African athletes into the continent’s first ever Athletics Hall of Fame was an important one. “It is a day to remember the past and recognise our champions who have made us proud in the past and continue to endow us with endless joy,” he said.

The CAA also paid a special tribute to Abebe Bikila, Africa's first ever Olympic gold medallist who won back-to-back marathon titles in 1960 and 1964. The Ethiopian died in 1973 and a posthumous award was handed out to his son Yetinayit Abebe.

The 16th African Athletics Championships started on Wednesday and will continue until the x May. Ethiopia is expected to dominate the middle and long-distance events. Nigeria and South Africa are tipped to share the medals on offer in the sprint and field events. source CAA