Farewell to an international star

Thousands of mourners paid their last respects to international athlete Mbulaeni Mulaudzi during an emotional funeral at Muduluni on Saturday.

Mulaudzi was given an official provincial funeral in recognition of his achievements. He died a fortnight ago, when his vehicle overturned on the R555 road in Mpumalanga.

He was the flag bearer for South Africa at the opening ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens and later became South Africa's first black athlete to be ranked number one in the world.

Some of the dignitaries who attended his funeral were the premier of Gauteng, Mr David Makhura, the acting premier of Limpopo, Mr Rudolf Phala, and Minerals and Energy Minister Ngoako Ramathlodi.

During the event, the Minister of Public Service and Administration, Mr Collins Chabane, delivered the eulogy, urging young South Africans to emulate Mulaudzi's spirit of patriotism. At the end of the funeral, Chabane handed a South African flag to Mulaudzi's parents. He mentioned that, at the time of his death, Mulaudzi was planning to start an athletics academy in the Kutama area. "He was like a true soldier champion. He died on the battlefield, ready to serve the nation and to contribute to the development of athletics in South Africa," he said.

Mr Phala also honoured Mulaudzi for his efforts to develop sport in rural areas, while the president of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee, Mr Gideon Sam, described Mulaudzi as a giant in the athletics world.

“We are going to remember him. He was a great athlete, a legend and a hero,” said Athletics South Africa’s co-ordinator and former teammate, Hezekiel Sepeng.

Date:07 November 2014

By: Kaizer Nengovhela

Kaizer Nengovhela started writing stories for Limpopo Mirror in 2000. Prior to that he had a five year stint at Phala-Phala FM as sports presenter. In 2005 Kaizer received an award from the province's premier as Best Sports Presenter. The same year he was also nominated as Best Sports Reporter by the Makhado Municipality. Kaizer was awarded the Mathatha Tsedu award in 2014.

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