Johannesburg - Ruswahl Samaai has emerged over the past couple of years as one of the world's elite long jumpers.
The 24-year-old track and field South African was the bronze medallist in the event at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
In an interview, the Paarl-born Samaai paid tribute to his first coach Raymond Julius and the significant role he played in his early career. “He taught me so many basics of the sport and opened my eyes to the possibilities of track and field. “My first competition was a school sprint. I was very small at that time, probably aged five or six. I remember my family came to watch me and my mother arrived late.
“I was sitting in the blocks at the time and she started calling my name. I looked back and I started waving at her. I don't think the other kids in the race were too happy because she kind of messed up everyone's race. I think I finished fifth or sixth in the race.” Samaai says his first love has always been track and field.
“I started out as a sprinter, but I also experienced hurdles, high jump, lots of the events before settling on long jump. I even did cross country, although that was just for fun. “I remember one cross country course we competed on there was a certain place on the course where I knew I could grab some guavas for some food. So at a certain point on the course when the field turned left, I turned right to get some fruit. I would then continue on my way to finish the race. “
His first international race came in 2012 in Mozambique. “I remember it wasn't the best-attended event and the only spectators in the stadium were the athletes! It was a good competition for me, as I won the long jump. I was just excited to be part of a South African team.”
His first big disappointment came at the Beijing World Championships (Samaai finished 20th and failed to qualify for the final). “I had started the season so well and I thought 2015 would be my breakthrough year, but then I picked up an injury which ruled me out for a large part of the season.
“I then slowly got back into shape and then on the day (in Beijing) everything went wrong. It was the biggest disappointment of my athletics career. I was so mad at the world and I didn't want to talk to my coach or my family. “It took about two weeks to get over the disappointment before I realised my coach and family were there to support me. I then made my peace with the World Championships and moved on.
Samaai says the first bit of clothing he ever bought was a pair of spikes. “I was working at the time in a cafeteria during the December holidays and I thought to myself this month I am going to buy some new spikes. In previous years I had been given spikes, but some of the pairs didn't fit me. I bought myself a pair of spikes and they lasted until 2013.
Samaai grew up in a neighbourhood of Paarl. He was driven to compete in athletics and would regularly walk nearly 10km to the local running track to train. He attended Paarl Gimnasium and went on to study transport management at the University of Johannesburg before turning seriously to long jump. - African News Agency (ANA)