Sprinter Benji Richardson has decided to compete for Ireland, and Maxime Chaumeton has the option to run for France.
When the SA team returned home from the recent World Athletics Championships, iconic sprinter Wayde van Niekerk called out Athletics South Africa for not giving athletes enough support. And if the federation doesn’t listen to him soon, we’re going to lose top athletes.
Already, it seems Benjamin Richardson has switched allegiance.
One of the most promising sprinters the country has ever produced, Richardson was inexplicably left out of the national relay squad at the World Championships in Tokyo last month.
As it turns out, it’s because Richardson is jumping ship. The 21-year-old sprinter has apparently agreed to compete for Ireland in future.
It’s unclear whether it’s a done deal, and hopefully he will change his mind, but considering he did not compete in Tokyo, it seems he’s made his decision. This is a huge loss for South African athletics.
Will Chaumeton run for France?
Now, distance runner Maxime Chaumeton has a difficult decision to make.
Chaumeton delivered a stunning performance on Sunday, running 26:55 in Romania to rip 33 seconds off the national 10km record. It was perhaps the best performance by a South African road runner in more than two decades.
Chaumeton, however, is not only South African. As a dual citizen, he is also French.
It’s clear that 25-year-old Chaumeton is patriotic towards South Africa. He lives here and his coach (Hendrick Ramaala) is based here.
However, he has the option to compete for France, and if he does feel he will receive more support with that decision, we can’t blame him for going that way. As is the case with Richardson, it would be another massive loss.
Athletes need financial support
Athletics South Africa does support local athletes. The federation organises training camps and provides plenty of opportunities for athletes to compete at international level.
But outside the support top-tier individuals receive from Sascoc through the Operation Excellence programme, SA athletes have to rely on personal sponsors to survive.
The national federation needs to find more sponsors, offer elite athletes contracts and give them financial support.
If they don’t do this, we really shouldn’t be surprised if we lose incredible athletes like Richardson and Chaumeton, and others if they have the option.
