Johannesburg - Former New York marathon champion Hendrick Ramaala wants to take over as the head of Athletics South Africa (ASA) when a new board is elected in a few months' time.Ramaala sits on the interim board that was voted in last November after ASA president Leonard Chuene and his executive were suspended with senior members of ASA staff - all of whom face disciplinary hearings for financial mismanagement and their bungling of the Caster Semenya gender controversy.
And the 38-year-old, who will compete in the Lake Biwa marathon in Otsu, Japan on March 7, believes he has what it takes to rebuild the sport.
"I would be lying if I said I didn't want the president's position," Ramaala said on Thursday.
"We, as athletes, understand athletics and we know what the problems are. We are ready to take back our sport."
The veteran distance runner, who holds the South African 10 000m and half-marathon records, said he would remain competitive as an athlete and still have time to lead the ASA administration.
"Not one person on the previous board didn't have other business interests," Ramaala said.
"Sometimes board members in sports organisations don't even pitch for meetings because they have other commitments, but I've got the time to do the job.
"I train in the mornings, and then I have the whole day free, and I can work my life around my responsibilities as president. I only travel two or three times a year for short periods of time.
"At the moment, on the interim board, we meet once a month. These monthly or weekly meetings are nothing. I'm ready for a real challenge."
Last month ASA interim board member James Evans resigned because he felt South Africa's Olympic governing body (SASCOC), who took over the federation after Chuene and his board were suspended, were not allowing athletics experts to run the sport. And Ramaala agrees that the only way ASA will recover from the mess created by the former board is to hand the sport to those with experience in athletics.
"We don't want to be explaining to people what a 100m sprint is, or why the national cross country championships are important, or why the national marathon trials should not be held a month before a global championship," Ramaala said.
"The athletes are more than ready to run the organisation. You don't need a political degree to run this organisation - you need to understand athletics.
"Other sports are so far ahead of us because they are run by people who understand those sports and have played those sports, but athletics has been run by people who have never run in their lives. You only have to look at their waistbands to realise that."
The ASA interim board must be replaced by a permanent executive by the end of May - the end of the six-month deadline given to ASA administator Ray Mali and his team - and Ramaala will take his first step to finding a seat on that board this weekend.
The Central Gauteng Athletics provincial association will elect a new board on Saturday, and Ramaala has been touted as the favourite for the president's seat.
"I have been approached by some people who say they want me for that position," Ramaala said, "and if it's offered I will accept it.
"If I don't say yes, I will be failing my supporters and my sport. We must not allow power mongers who don't care about the sport to take over again."
mzungo.org says: where can we vote, mate?
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