Tragedy fuels sprinter Sinesipho Dambile's powerful return to form

The 23-year-old former junior world champion was rewarded with gold after fending off injury issues and losing his beloved paternal uncle.

- Yanga Sibembe

It's been a whirlwind month for South African sprinter Sinesipho Dambile. In the build-up to his much-anticipated return to the South African Track and Field Championships after a lengthy injury layoff, Dambile lost one of the most important people in his life - his paternal uncle.

The relationship between the pair was no ordinary one: Dambile says he considered Zimnyamana Dambile his father because of the role the elder played in steering him down the right paths and constantly supporting him.

He said if it were not for the influence of the senior Dambile who had once harboured dreams of conquering the world with his feet too he may not have gravitated towards athletics.

Hence, when Dambile made a winning return to the sprinting circuit after recovering from injury by reclaiming the 200m national title, which he first won in 2022, he dedicated the victory to his late uncle.

With the blessing of his family, Dambile had taken the tough decision to remain in Potchefstroom and participate in the race instead of attending the funeral in the Eastern Cape.

In the end it proved to be a worthwhile sacrifice for the 23-year-old as he powered back after a slow start to overtake Naeem Jack, Abduraghmaan Karriem and Benjamin Richardson for gold, in a time of 20.11 seconds. This saw him qualify for the World Athletics Championships, which take place in Tokyo, Japan, in mid-September.

It's all for him

“Everything I’ve been doing was for him, because of the support I always got from him. I got into the sport because of him. That's what he wanted me to do. I was good as a rugby player; I was good as a soccer player as well.

“So, all he wanted was me achieving my goals in track and field - that was once his goal too, growing up,” Dambile said.