The Man South Africa Forgot - ESPN
RONKHORSTSPRUIT, Gauteng Province, South Africa -- The picture in an aging, tan-brick farmhouse at the end of a long, dusty road on the savannah distills the essence of a national hero. In it, the man raises his arms, toward the heavens, his index finger and thumb appearing to make the victory sign. Nineteen years later, Josia Thugwane looks at the photo, competing for space on his living room wall with a mural of himself and Nelson Mandela. He still doesn't know whether he affected lives that day. No one from the athletic federation has called to ask the famous Olympian to speak to kids, make an appearance or mentor a promising runner in years, much less attend any upcoming 20th-anniversary function. Instead, like many days with family, he will help Zodwa, his wife of almost 20 years, serve plates of white rice, lightly fried chicken and thick, brown gravy. Thugwane (pronounced Too-gwan-ee ) is now the embodiment of what Robert Frost once said: "In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It goes on. ". If a man is a national hero but his own country doesn't remember him, is he... Thugwane "reinforced our pride and confidence as a nation," Mandela said then. Almost 20 years later, he sits quietly in the living room of his single-story rambler on a 75-acre plot of land in the Gauteng province, uncertain of what constitutes a memorable life. Source: espn.go.com
