I’m a sucker for a trip down memory lane so allow me to hark back to the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta for a second. August 4 was a day that should have forever changed the life of Josia Thugwane, his whirlwind celebration down the home stretch of the marathon becoming one of the iconic moments of the Games.

South Africans rejoiced as one of our own beat out 123 other competitors and grabbed the gold medal in what was a case of David beating Goliath. His victory is described as follows by ESPN, who have put together a truly riveting read that is worth investing some of your Thursday energy into:

Looking back once more as he rounded the backstretch with less than 200 meters left, realizing [second place] Lee couldn’t catch him, he began to exult, windmilling his arms, crossing the finish line in 2 hours, 12 minutes and 36 seconds…

An illiterate man who had overcome abject poverty and a cruel birthright, a janitor in a mine hostel who had been shot in the face just five months before, had won the last gold medal of the Centennial Games — and the first gold medal belonging to a black man from South Africa.

Thugwane was an instant hero, another sporting beacon of hope in the quest to live up to the title of ‘Rainbow Nation’. He talked a good game too:

“This is for my country,” Josia said after he won. “This is for my president. I’m grateful I have this opportunity. It is an indication to others that if we work hard, all of us have equal opportunity, not like in the past.”

He returned home triumphant and, together with our other successful Olympians, enjoyed the perks that comes with international sporting success:

Josia Thugwane came home to two weeks of celebrations, parades and honorary dinners. Ndebele, Xhosa, Zulu and other tribal dancers encircled him at different gatherings, chanting, singing, making up poems of praise for his triumph.

Coca-Cola signed him to a six-figure endorsement contract minutes after his victory, about $200,000 over four years — enough to allow a poor child from a black township to buy enclosed homes with modern roofing for himself and his immediate family…

Josia intimated to Mandela that he had never gone to school, and Mandela saw that the first and only individual black gold medalist in his nation’s history was given an English tutor for free. He sidled up to Josia before he left, smiling widely like only Madiba could.

“You say you’re not educated, but your feet are.”

Unfortunately, as you may have guessed from the headline, this story does not come with a happy ending. We will leave you to do the hard work yourself and read the full piece HERE, the story of Josia Thugwane deserves to reach as wide an audience as possible.

[source:espn]