FORMER South African 100m and 200m sprint queen, Geraldine Pillay-Viret went the extra mile this week for her birthday.
The track star gives back to the community of Macassar - where she grew up- through a career day every year in August.
However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic the career day could not happen and Pillay-Viret, who lives in Johannesburg and turned 43 on Tuesday, decided to donate food parcels to 50 needy families in Macassar.
At the time of planning, inter-provincial travel was not allowed and she asked her former primary school teacher Patsy Dicks to deliver the food parcels consisting of flour, oil, maize meal, non-perishable canned food, toiletries and vegetables.
Pillay-Viret said: “Our people are suffering and in desperate need of food and to stay committed to my goal of giving back, I decided to donate the food parcels. At some point in my life, someone also extended a helping hand to me, and for this reason I believe in the importance of paying it forward.
“Growing up in Macassar was carefree, as children we would play all sorts of street games everyday after school from ‘drie blikkies’ to ‘niekies’. Our neighbours were like extended family, looking out for each other’s kids. During the Wimbledon broadcast on TV, we would transform our street into our own court. It is also on this very street, Oklahoma Street, where my speed was tested against the other kids,” she said.
Pillay-Viret was the first South African athlete to medal in a sprint event at an international track and field competition. She won a silver medal in the 100m sprint and bronze in the 200m sprint at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in 2006.
She also represented SA at the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004 and medalled at the African Championships in 2004 and 2006. She is now the head of athletics and cross country at St Benedict’s College in Johannesburg.
“What I enjoyed most about track and field is the exhilarating moment before the race starts. The electrifying energy of the crowd. But most of all the fact that it is an individual sport, it is a race between yourself and the clock, no one else. My fondest track and field memory is representing SA at the Olympic Games. It is any athlete’s dream to compete at the highest level in their sport. Being an Olympian is something that cannot be taken away from you regardless of what happens.”
As a young speedster, Pillay-Viret looked up to Namibia’s Frank “Frankie” Fredericks who won silver in the 100m and 200m sprint events at the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games.
“He was living proof that it is possible to be an excellent world class athlete from Southern Africa. It is important for athletes to remember that all sacrifices will be worth it in the end,” she added.
One of Pillay-Viret’s former coaches, Hansie Coetzee-Venter said: “I know Geraldine for many years and she will always be close to my heart. It was not just a coach and athlete relationship but she felt like my own daughter. I’m proud of the work Geraldine is doing in underprivileged communities and she does it with great success.”