Durban lawyer Moses Naidoo, 50, returned home with a gold medal from the 2023 World Masters Indoor Athletics Championships (WMC) held in Poland, on Tuesday.
Naidoo slipped into King Shaka International Airport without any acknowledgement or welcoming ceremony from South African sporting bodies or clubs. Naidoo participated in the 400m Men’s 50 category and was crowned world champion after he won the race. This was the ninth edition of the championships and involved over 80 countries.
Naidoo mentioned that these championships were self-funded and hoped that through his achievements, the various sporting bodies would help in developing the sport. He said they should reconsider their attitude to masters athletics and senior athletics.
Naidoo is a lawyer from Mount Edgecombe, north of Durban. The father of three, who represents the Fast Feet Track Club, said he enjoyed the experience of competing and meeting athletes from around the world. He said this was his first time running in an indoor track and this made him apprehensive.
“Indoor is so different to outdoor as the track is undulating and very difficult,” he said.
Together with his coach, he said they worked hard to prepare for the championship. Naidoo said he had expectations of reaching the final, but was surprised when he emerged victorious.
“Coach Victor Vaz never doubted my ability to win the gold. It was a sense of adulation and relief once I crossed the finish line,” he said.
Naidoo said he was in Poland for two weeks where he had no time to rest because he was also training in preparation for his next competition, the SA Master Championships (Sama) in Cape Town between May 4-6 .
Vaz, has worked with Naidoo for nine months and said that he expected this performance due to the time and dedication he put in training.
“I more than Moses was confident that he would win as not only had he broken the South African 400m record (51.93) but the profiles of his opposition were not up to his standard, with the exception of the current world record holder who came second and who had not posted current times. His winning time 53.31 was not as expected but after three rounds of 400m, a sub-53 second race was a tough call,” said Vaz.
Vaz shared that Naidoo initially started as a long jump athlete but as a coach, he identified Naidoo’s speed and suggested that he focused on running 400m instead.
WhatsApp your views on this story to 071 485 7995.
Daily News