Pistorius Calls On Sa To Bring Games To Africa
On the day he carries his country’s flag in the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympic Games, Oscar Pistorius has called on South Africa to complete the set of global sporting major events by becoming the first nation to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Africa.
“We’ve had the Rugby World Cup in 1995, the Cricket World Cup in 2003 and the football in 2010, and we’ve shown that we can host phenomenal international competitions,” said Pistorius.
“The Olympics is definitely the missing one in that impressive collection so I think if we could host it that would be great. I know that they’ve been talking about it in Durban and it would be the right city for that. I guess I’m a little bit bitter that it won’t be in my career as an athlete!” Pistorius joked. “But I’ll definitely support that as much as I can.”
In an exclusive interview with Sport Industry Group, which can be viewed here, the ‘Blade Runner’ also called for fresh investment into South Africa’s sporting facilities – pointing in particular to the lack of world-class athletics tracks.
“We’re very good with sport, but the sports that we’ve got are mostly team sports. I think sometimes the facilities we have are not up to world standard and that’s often where we need to be realistic with the individual sports,” he said. “In a country like France, just in Paris they’ve got 22 Mondo tracks, which is the international surface we run on; I think we’ve got one in South Africa. So there are a lot of facilities that we really need across the spectrum.”
The double amputee made history by competing in this year’s Olympic Games, but is now fully focused on Paralympic gold.
“We’ve got a phenomenal Paralympic team, and to be part of this team for the third time is a blessing,” he said. “In London I think it’s going to be quite a special Paralympic Games – one like we’ve never seen before. The reach that this Paralympic Games is going to have is going to be far more impactful than in previous years and to be part of Team South Africa and to be able to represent my country in the four events that we’ve managed to qualify for is going to be quite a big feat. I’m looking forward to it. I think it should be a phenomenal experience.”
Sport Industry Group’s exclusive interview with Oscar Pistorius is also available in full here.
