The Corner Flag: Excuses don’t make champions
Lythe Pillay serves as an example that hard work pays off and that excuses don't win races.
On Heritage Day at the Absa Run Your City Joburg 10K, I got to experience what it feels like to hold a slice of the world stage.
Lythe Pillay placed his World Athletics Championships medal in my hands. Heavier than my 10kg dumbbells, it wasn’t just metal I was holding, it was history, sacrifice, and pride forged into one.
But the pride wasn’t mine. It belonged to Lythe, a young man who has carried our town’s name onto the world map and become a flagbearer for what is possible when talent meets relentless work.
I told him straight that I am proud of him. He met my words with that trademark humility, a smile, and a quiet “thank you”. No arrogance, no swagger, just respect.
And in that moment, one thought stayed with me. If my two boys are looking for a role model, they do not need to search far. He is right here, medal in hand, showing them what greatness looks like.
He reminded me of a passage in Steve Biko’s autobiography, where a young Biko was told by his school principal that one day he would become a revered leader.
Lythe’s love for athletics was first planted at Arbor Primary and has since grown into a career as one of the most respected 400m athletes in the country.
If ever there was a story to remind us that nothing beats hard work, it is Lythe Pillay.
Raised by a single mother right here in Benoni, Lythe did not wait for perfect conditions or the perfect support system. He laced up his spikes, put his head down, and ran his way into the history books.
Children in our city do not need to look to Usain Bolt, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, or Eliud Kipchoge for inspiration, they have a real one in Lythe Pillay.
This young man has stormed through the ranks, collecting medals at junior and senior World Athletics Championships and stamping his authority on the global stage by winning the World University Games 400m title. He recently helped Team SA at the Tokyo World Championships secure a bronze medal in the men’s 4x400m relay after running a clean first leg to set a strong foundation for his teammates.
That is not luck. That is hours on the Boksburg City Stadium track under the sharp eye of Coach Lindi du Plessis and the refusal to quit when life threw challenges his way.
Parents, if you are looking for someone your children can look up to, stop searching. Lythe Pillay is living proof that your background does not define your ceiling. He shows that talent means nothing without discipline and that dreams mean nothing without relentless pursuit.
In a world full of shortcuts, Lythe has taken the long road, the hard road, and turned it into victory laps around the country.
If our children can learn anything from Lythe, it is this. Excuses do not win races, effort does. And effort, multiplied over time, creates champions.
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