Johannesburg - Samuel Tshabalala’s death on Sunday has robbed South African road running of an inspirational pioneer who was sadly never really appreciated by the sport he served so well.
The first black man to win the Comrades Marathon back in 1989, Tshabalala opened the way for black runners to believe they could dominate the iconic ultra-marathon that had been the preserve of white runners since its inception back in 1921.
Following Tshabalala’s success, there have been 10 more black South African champions and a Zimbabwean winner of the torturous 90km run between the KwaZulu-Natal cities of Durban and Pietermaritzburg. The last time the race was won by a white man was way back in 2008.
Most of those black winners have always spoken of Tshabalala being their inspiration, the man who made them believe they can win Comrades.
In any other country, Tshabalala would have been honoured in numerous ways for his feat - a race in his name perhaps?
With the Comrades Marathon medals being named after major contributors to the race, it could be argued he was worthy of having one too.
Watch though as politicians and running administrators fall over each other to get the platform to speak at either his funeral or memorial service despite their having ignored the man while he was still alive.
This in spite of the fact that none of them had ever bothered to check on the man to find out how such a legend was doing or if he could be used in some way to help with grooming new talent.
Back in 2019, the 30th anniversary of that incredible feat which saw him win the Comrades in a time of 5:35.51, the municipality of his township Zamdela in the Free State incredibly said no to a request from a group that wanted to host a five kilometre fun run to go with the gala dinner they had organised in Tshabalala’s honour.
The Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) gave him the winner’s jacket at that dinner given that the honour was only introduced long after he had won the race. Tshabalala, ever humble, was appreciative of the gesture, just as much as he had been of what the victory in 1989 did for him.
“How could I ever forget Comrades Marathon,” he said during an interview at his home in Zamdela, “I have this house because of Comrades. My children have a home because of Comrades.”
For his victory, Tshabalala says he was supposed to have gotten a car from some of the sponsors but he told them he’d rather have a house.
“I didn’t even have a driver’s licence, so what would I have done with that kombi?” he laughed.
And so it was that he got a home built for his family and it was at that house (No 4 165) in Zamdela that he suffered a fall on Sunday, before he was taken to hospital where he breathed his last.
A legend of the Comrades is no more. But the mark he left on the race will forever remain.
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