Mokoena no-show 'unacceptable'

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Mokoena a no-show in Delhi
2010-10-01 20:49Email | Print
Khotso Mokoena (File)

New Delhi - South Africa’s Olympic sports governing body, SASCOC, has taken a dim view of long jumper Khotso Mokoena’s non-arrival for the Commonwealth Games and will be fully investigating his no-show.

In a statement released on Friday night, the SASCOC CEO, Tubby Reddy said the body "finds Mokoena’s attitude defiant, and it’s seen in a serious light.

"The athlete was cleared by the chief medical doctor, Dr Shuaib Manjra, and asked to come to New Delhi but refused to board the plane (carrying the country’s track and field athletes on Thursday night from Johannesburg).

“The matter will be dealt with on our return to South Africa but we find the behaviour unacceptable,” Reddy added.

The track and field team arrived on Friday, along with SASCOC president Gideon Sam, but Mokoena and the national sprint champion, Simon Magakwe, were not among those arrivals.

“We have also noted the no-show of Magakwe, and as we had not been aware of any injury, and therefore declared fit by our medical team, we will also be investigating why he did not arrive,” a clearly irritated Reddy concluded.

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Oh god. He was cleared by the team’s doctor? I’m shocked!

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They have too many “doctors” in South African athletics. Dr Arbeit is the most sinister.

Apparently SASCOC’s doctor does not differentiate between an athlete being injury-free (therefore he must be ready) and an athlete being fit to compete at the highest level of his genetics. Mokoena has not been able to train for two months. Now they expect him to win gold and beat people he couldnb’t beat even before he was injured and lost the last eight weeks from training.

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Mokoena is not fit to compete
Friday, October 01, 2010 | Comments: 0
By Ramatsiyi Moholoa

Acclaimed long jumper Khotso Mokoena is spitting fire after attempts by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee to drag him into Team South Africa for the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India.

Sascoc said Mokoena was fit to compete at the games, but the Beijing Olympics silver medallist insisted yesterday that he was injured.

The games start on Sunday and South Africa will also be without world 800m champions Mbulaeni Mulaudzi and Caster Semenya due to injuries.

“Sascoc are trying to force me to go to the Commonwealth Games. It’’s not fair because I have not been training for more than two months,” Mokoena said.

"Sascoc have not spoken to us since we got injured to check our progress.

"There is no way I can go there to prepare myself.

"I have never missed an opportunity to represent South Africa and people should not doubt my loyalty to my country now.

"It would have been great to go the Commonwealth Games, but I don’’t want to become a laughing stock out there because I will surely struggle to compete due to the injury.

"If I go to India and perform dismally, I won’’t be invited to other events at a later stage. I had a meeting with my management and we agreed that I should not go.

“We are having the 2011 World Championships and 2012 London Olympics, so there is no way I can risk my career. I eke out a living through athletics,” he said.

Said Mulaudzi: "I feel so bad that certain people are trying to create the impression that we are faking injuries.

"I have not been training or competing since July due to injury and I’’m still injured. We will never lie about injuries, we have doctors’’ certificates to prove that we are injured.

“I would also have loved to go to India. I won gold on my first appearance in the Commonwealth Games in 2000.”

Sascoc insists that Mokoena is fit to compete.