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South African marathon runner Hendrick Ramaala hopes to improve the state of athletics in the country once he retires.
Ramaala, who lines up for his eighth New York Marathon on Sunday in search of his second title, told a magazine that politics had become too prominent in South African athletics and he intended mending problems within the sport's development structures after he retires.
"Once things slow down for me, maybe I'll take these things seriously and get more involved," the 37-year-old qualified lawyer said.
"I can see where the problem is. I've spoken to a lot of athletes, commentators, and experts on what is needed.
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'We have all this talent, but do not know what to do with it' "There are all these politics coming in, though. Nobody wants to hear the truth. It's all about politics.
"You don't need to run the federation to fix it. You don't need to be in a powerful position to fix it.
"You just need to get a group of kids who have talent and promise and give them bread and butter, shelter, get them into a camp, let them train and promise them trips to America or Europe. After that, you will get support.
"In this country, you get rewarded for winning. The new talent doesn't get spotted.
"In this country, you get spotted by winning a gold medal. How you got it is your business."
'The athletes just need support' Athletics South Africa (ASA) are trying to claw their way out of the hole they dug for themselves when president Leonard Chuene and general manager Molatelo Malehopo admitting they had lied about gender tests conducted on 800-metres world champion Caster Semenya.
The Soweto Marathon on Sunday will be the last race sponsored by Nedbank after the banking giant terminated, a year early, its five-year contract to fund the ASA road running series.
And track and field sponsor Yellow Pages is still in talks with the federation about extending its contract which ended last season.
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