Whenever something like this happens the hip and happy take to social media to argue with social media citizens or simply to gloat about the achievement. So half the local population migrated to social media to let the world know that their country is the first in Africa to get a gold medal in a 200m sprint. Not to be outdone I hobbled along, crocked knees and all. The digital streets went abuzz, every keyboard warrior and hashtag enthusiast was out in full force, celebrating the first African country to clinch this title. And there I was, amidst the virtual fanfare, trying to keep up with the youthful exuberance, my enthusiasm slightly hampered by the reality of my less-than-cooperative keyboard competence. The problem with social media is that it's a bit like a high school reunion; it's all fun and games until you start comparing achievements. You've got the overachievers, the humble braggers, and then there's me, trying to navigate the digital space with the grace of a three-legged giraffe.
Social media wars also come with a slew of their own problems. There you have to sustain an argument with English–spewing natives whose athlete has just lost and they have now converted into bile-spewing factories. Our English bundles depleted faster than the local economy. A gallant friend said she pulled out a dictionary and downloaded Chat GP to supply armoury to her arguments and chisel out her bullets but it didn’t get far. The native speakers obliterated her charge faster than Letsile’s legs.
As always when a favorite gets taken to the cleaners there are usually explanations as to why their champ lost. In athletics there’s usually a whole spectrum of excuses from the Athletics Excuse Manual. The starter gun was illegal (as happened in one African athletic meet not long ago). There was a false start that was not picked. This time the excuse factory pulled out a masterpiece. The excuse is nothing short of a magnum opus, a veritable Mona Lisa of justifications. It seems that Letsile Tebogo's top rival, the one and only Noah Lyles, was not just battling the clock and his competitors, but also the infamous covid-19. Yes, you heard it right, the virus decided to lace up its spikes and join the fray, leading to Lyles' third-place finish.
Yet the mass of befuddled doubters are saying he would not have got this deadly virus had he won the race. Many of us don’t believe we live in a world where winning a race could magically ward off viruses. The excuse factory may churn out masterpieces, but it's the athletes who paint the true pictures on the canvas of competition. And this time, it was Tebogo who created a masterpiece for the ages, a story of triumph over adversity, of victory against the odds, and of a son's love for his mother that carried him to Olympic gold. In the end, covid-19 may have joined the race, but it couldn't outrun the human spirit.
Lyles' pre-race trash talk had made a comeback, like a girl you had ditched without a proper exit notice who then gets hired as a switchboard operator where you work. He had boldly proclaimed that none of his competitors would win, that they would be "depressed" when he came off the turn. But in a twist fit for a Shakespearean tragedy, it was Lyles who found himself in the bronze position, his words echoing in the stadium like a cautionary tale. A warning to all - it looks like covid -19 is back courtesy of athletes who are bronzing.
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Thulaganyo Jankey is a Rapporteur and training consultant who runs his own training consultancy that provides training in BQA- accredited courses. His other services include registering consultancies with BQA and developing training courses. Contact him on 74447920 or email [email protected]
