KNYSNA | PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS – Knysna and Plettenberg Bay will this year see not one, not two, not three, not four, not even five, but no less than six representatives flying the local flag high at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games set to begin later this month.
This occasion will mark the first time ever that more than one athlete from the region is taking part in an Olympic Games.
The enviable title of being the first and only homegrown local to take part in an Olympics as an athlete so far belongs to Plettonian Michele Eray who took part in the 2008 Beijing Olympics as a sprint canoeist.
Eight years later, at Rio 2016, Eray joined Team USA as a coach, and that year would be the first time a Knysna representative was present at the Olympics when Knysna-raised Carl Pasio was a part of Team SA's cycling management.
There is also long-time resident and pharmacist Erna Loots who made the trip to the Land of the Holy Cross in 2016 as an Olympic volunteer.
Athenkosi Dlala
Eray's title of being the only homegrown athlete thus far won't last much longer, however, because when the Olympic torch is lit in Tokyo on 23 July, Samkelo 'Sam' Mvimbi (hockey), Aimee Canny (swimming) and Athenkosi Dlala (soccer) will join the special club of homegrown athletes to take part in an Olympic games.
The occasion will also see 17-year-old Canny, who was born and raised in Knysna, become the youngest ever homegrown person* to take part in an Olympic games in any capacity. Mvimbi (22) was born in Knysna and raised between there and Plett, while Dlala (23) is entirely born and raised in Plett.
The trio will also be joined by sailor Leo Davis, who is a member of the Knysna Yacht Club. Davis (29) was born and raised in Cape Town but has always had ties to Knysna through his father Greg (64), who will also be travelling to Tokyo as his coach.
Father and son, sailor and coach duo Leo and Greg Davis.
Greg, who has owned a houseboat in Knysna for 30 years and a house there for 13 years, has been to the 1996 Atlanta Olympics as a coach of SA sailor Ian Ainsley.
Much like Greg, Pasio (35) will also be making his second trip to an Olympics following on from Rio 2016. Although he is travelling as Team SA's road cycling manager, he will be side by side with his wife, Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio, who will be participating in her third consecutive games (2012, 2016, and 2020).
Carl Pasio
Pasio was already coaching Ashleigh in 2012, but was not a member of Team SA at London 2012.
The six who will be flying the Knysna/Plett flag high this year aren't the only Olympians who have ties to the region.
Samkelo Mvimbi in action against Namibia in May.
Photo: Anton Geyser/Gallo Images
This is to the best of our knowledge. Despite conducting quite a bit of research, we cannot find record of a younger local Olympian. If you know of one, please do not hesitate to contact us.
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