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- Herausgeber: Jonathan Ball
- Kategorie: Sachliteratur, Reportagen, Biografien
- Sprache: Englisch
Sport is all about thrilling moments. It takes just a few seconds of inspiration and talent to change the course of sporting history. A kick, a pass, a burst of speed and courage in the right place at the right time — that's what separates winners from losers. Great athletes spend their whole careers preparing for when a career highlight might happen. Nobody can predict them. But, once in a while during a match, out on the track or in the pool, all the elements line up perfectly. In Thrilling Sporting Moments you'll read about some of the most exciting moments in our sporting history. Featuring: Lungi Ngidi, Quinton de Kock, Akani Simbine, Faf de Klerk, Ernst van Dyk, Luvo Manyonga, Kevin Anderson, Cheslin Kolbe, Chad le Clos, Percy Tau, Louis Oosthuizen, Lucas Radebe, Josia Thugwane, Bongiwe Msomi, Caster Semenya, Janine van Wyk, Sunette Viljoen, Tatjana Schoenmaker.
Das E-Book können Sie in Legimi-Apps oder einer beliebigen App lesen, die das folgende Format unterstützen:
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021
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Jonathan Ball Publishers
JOHANNESBURG • CAPE TOWN • LONDON
Contents
INTRODUCTION
Sport is all about thrilling moments. Sometimes, all it takes is a few seconds of inspiration and talent to change the course of sporting history. A kick, a pass, a burst of speed and courage that comes in the right place at the right time is what separates winners from losers.
Great athletes spend their whole careers preparing for when their moments might happen. Nobody can predict them. But, once in a while during a match, out on the track or in the pool, all the elements line up perfectly.
In the latest book in the Road to Glory series, we’re highlighting some of the most thrilling moments in South African sporting history. Perhaps you saw some as they happened and missed others. Each of these thrilling moments counts as something that South African sports fans can be proud of.
Not every one of these moments led to victory; that’s not the way sports works. But they all showcased the athletes performing at the peak of their powers.
What more can a fan ask than that?
CHAPTER 1
KEVIN ANDERSON’S EPIC WIMBLEDON
Why does it always have to be this hard? Kevin muttered to himself as the umpire announced, ‘Game and fourth set to Mr Anderson. That’s two sets all, going into the fifth and final set.’
Kevin walked off the grass, sat down and rehydrated as fast as he could. All around him, the fans were buzzing with excitement. For many people, a trip to watch the Wimbledon semi-finals was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and now that they were here, they were going to enjoy every second of it.
A long, tough fight was exactly what they had come to see.
Sitting on the other side of the umpire’s chair was the American tennis player John Isner. Kevin knew Isner well. They had first competed against each other in college when Kevin had attended the University of Illinois. In 2007, he had been representing the state of Illinois in the championship dual match and lost to Isner, who was representing Georgia.
At the time, it had been the biggest defeat of his career and it had stung badly. But despite that, the men had become friends over the years.
Still, this was no time for friendship. This was the semi-final of the 2018 Wimbledon Championships, and a victory here would catapult the winner to playing the tennis match that every tennis-crazy boy dreamed about – the Wimbledon Men’s Singles Final. It didn’t get bigger than that in tennis, anywhere in the world.
‘Time, gentlemen,’ said the umpire and the crowd cheered. Kevin got to his feet, and immediately felt a heaviness in his legs. With one set to go, he would have to summon every bit of energy he had, to make it through. A few days earlier, he had played a gruelling quarter-final against Roger Federer. The match had lasted four hours until Kevin finally won the last game 13–11 in the fifth set. His legs were still feeling the strain and now here he was, about to start another fifth set.
The ball girl bounced two bright yellow balls to him as he reached the backline, and it was game on again.
Kevin’s serve had always been his biggest weapon and he relied heavily on it to smash opponents. In the early years of his career, some people used to say that it was the only thing he could do. But he had never complained and had worked hard on all aspects of his game to become an all-round player.
Now he was competing to become the first South African to play in a Wimbledon final since Kevin Curren had, in 1985.
He slammed the ball and it ripped past Isner’s racket. 15–0.
Kevin was annoyed that things had reached this point. He had been leading five points to four in the fourth set and had three set points but managed to blow them all and take it to five-all. He was furious with himself then and wondered if the tide had turned and Isner was going to steal the game from him.
Now here they were, with two sets each and everything to play for. As both men served ace after ace, game after game, they pushed each other to their limit.
The lead kept shifting in the final set. Both men were trying to find weaknesses in each other’s games, while hiding their own aches and pains. Kevin could see that Isner’s ankle was sore, and his own legs felt like jelly. Point after point turned into game after game, which turned into hour after hour.
Isner served the ball deep, onto Kevin’s backhand. Kevin whipped his return right down the line, forcing his opponent to scramble a short return. That brought Kevin to the net, and he tried to finish the point with a gentle touch, but he overhit it slightly. Again, Isner managed to get there in time and return it.
Kevin made no mistake on the next shot and finished the point off.
As the game went on, Kevin’s mind began to wander. He found himself thinking about what his dog was up to, or about some chords he had learned on the guitar. His mind drifted back to his school days in Johannesburg when he was known as a star 800-metre runner. He remembered feeling exhausted after those races but honestly, this was much worse.
Kevin forced himself to concentrate but his body was almost operating on autopilot. At one stage it was 8 games each, then 10 each, then they were at 12 and 13 games apiece. Every time one took the lead, the other pulled it back.
It was all about the serve. Both men were expert servers, and they took it in turns to win on their own serve and wait for the other to make a mistake.
They were two hours into the final set when there was a long rally. Kevin was waiting for an opening, when he was forced to sprint to the right, and he slipped and dropped his racket. Isner pounced as Kevin scrambled to his feet. His racket had fallen on his left-hand side, so as the ball approached, he grabbed the racket with his left hand and made a decent return, then flipped it to his strong hand and won the point. The crowd went bananas!
He then flipped the racket to his strong hand and won the point.
Kevin glanced over at his opponent and spotted that his whole posture had sagged. He was leaning heavily on his racket. Right then, Kevin knew he could win this thing! Fate seemed to be on his side.
Still, the game carried on until it was 24–24. They had been on the court for six and a half hours, and the match had officially entered Guinness World Records as the longest semi-final match in Grand Slam history. Isner couldn’t take it anymore. Finally, Kevin pressed his advantage, and Isner slammed the ball into the net, losing his own serve. All Kevin had to do was win his own serve again and that would be it.
He served beautifully in the final game and there were no sweeter words to his ears than ‘Game, set, match, Kevin Anderson.’ He was through to the Wimbledon Final. What a high point for Kevin Anderson and for South Africa! Whether he won or lost in two days’ time, the semi-final would never be forgotten.
CHAPTER 2
BONGIWE MSOMI LEADS SA NETBALL TO NEW HEIGHTS
Bongiwe Msomi realised she would never get rich and famous playing netball. But that didn’t bother her at all. On the court, she felt complete. She knew exactly who she was, what she was supposed to do and how she fitted into the team. That sense of purpose and place was priceless to her. Tennis players, golfers and swimmers might be more popular with the public, but netball was her sport.
And every four years, the eyes of the sporting world turned to the Netball World Cup. Now, for two weeks in July 2019, that time was here. Bongiwe had travelled with the Proteas to Liverpool, United Kingdom, to compete. It was a dream come true and she was determined to soak it up and remember every moment.
Looking around at her teammates warming up, she felt excited. They were a strong team. Sigi Burger, Lenize Potgieter, Maryke Holtzhausen ... they were all world-class players. With a bit of luck, they could beat anyone in the world.
Table of Contents
Title Page
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1 KEVIN ANDERSON’S EPIC WIMBLEDON
CHAPTER 2 BONGIWE MSOMI LEADS SA NETBALL TO NEW HEIGHTS
CHAPTER 3 LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN AND THE RED DOT
CHAPTER 4 LUVO MANYONGA LEARNS HOW TO FLY
CHAPTER 5 CASTER SEMENYA WINS GOLD IN RIO
CHAPTER 6 PERCY TAU STEPS UP FOR BAFANA BAFANA
CHAPTER 7 SUNETTE VILJOEN PROVES THAT WOMEN CAN DO IT ALL
CHAPTER 8 LUNGI NGIDI GETS HIS FIRST ‘FIFER’
CHAPTER 9 CHAD LE CLOS UPSETS THE G.O.A.T. TO WIN GOLD
CHAPTER 10 TATJANA SCHOENMAKER’S OLYMPIC DREAM
CHAPTER 11 BLAST FROM THE PAST: LUCAS RADEBE WINS OVER THE LEEDS FANS
CHAPTER 12 CHESLIN KOLBE MAKES IT TO THE TOP
CHAPTER 13 ERNST VAN DYK – KING OF THE ROAD
CHAPTER 14 JANINE VAN WYK REMEMBERS HOW IT ALL BEGAN
CHAPTER 15 QUINTON DE KOCK TAKES THE GLOVES AGAINST SRI LANKA
CHAPTER 16 FAF DE KLERK STEERS A JAW-DROPPING SPRINGBOK COMEBACK
CHAPTER 17 AKANI SIMBINE RACES TOWARDS THE TITLE OF ‘WORLD’S FASTEST MAN’
CHAPTER 18 BLAST FROM THE PAST: JOSIA THUGWANE WINS GOLD FOR MADIBA
Sources
Author’s note
About the Book
About the Author
Also available in the Road to Glory series
Imprint Page
Landmarks
Table of Contents
