'Grandma knitted kit for SA'

The South African track and field athletes are unhappy about the clothing they have received to compete in the Beijing Olympic Games.

The general feeling is that they have been skimped and given impractical gear.

The clothing is made of thick and warm material that has been compared to that used for making tracksuits.

The openings for the arms in the vests that the men have received are said to be laughably small.

"It's almost as if we are expected to compete in clothing that grandma knitted," 4x100m relay athlete Sergio Mullins joked on Thursday.

Ruben Ramolefi, a member of the athletes' committee, said no athlete who wore the clothing would be proud to represent South Africa at the Games.

"I don't think the conditions in which we will compete in Beijing were considered when the clothing was made," he said.

"Do they realise temperatures could be between 35 and 40 degrees?

"And then I'm not even talking about the humidity. I expect the runners will have a tough time. The clothes will sap one's energy.

POOR QUALITY

"I also don't know about these little holes for the arms. The farther you run, the more chafing you will suffer. I don't know why we have been given clothing of such poor quality," Ramolefi said.

"We have all trained really hard during the past four years and we sacrificed a lot to qualify for the Games.

"One would think that out clothing should make us feel special, but that is not the case."

Offentse Mogawane, a 4x400m runner, took a look at his vest and said, "I thought we were going to take part in Beijing but it says here Beljing."

He could hardly believe that his vest was coming undone at the openings for the arms.

The athletes had a good laugh when javelin thrower Robert Oosthuizen was unable to take off his vest after trying it on. It took some effort to "defrock" him and javelin coach Terseus Liebenberg had to come to his assistance.

René Kalmer, a 1 500m athlete, said she wanted to "feel like a Ferrari" when she represented South Africa. "With these clothes I can't. It seems it was made in someone's garage."

NOT ABLE TO GIVE IT AWAY

Kalmer and discus thrower Elizna Naudé speculated aloud whether they would be able to exchange clothing with athletes from other countries.

Clothing was important, they added. "If you feel good about yourself, you perform well. With these clothes it won't be the case," Naudé said.

"I think athletes from other countries are going to laugh at us if we ask them to swap. I don't even know if we'll be able to give it away."

Athletics SA's team manager Wilfred Daniels supported the athletes.

And Leonard Chuene, chairperson of ASA, said the athletes had reason to be unhappy. However, he was unable to do anything about it, because the matter was in the hands of the SA Sports Federation and Olympic Committee.