Who was Sydney Maree?

Ray wrote:

I recall being at the track at Nats early on a Sat. am in 1983. Maree shows up and begins running 400's. I manage to time the last 3-4 of what must have been a total of 8-10. I got them in 50. Can't recall what he did that night in the 1500 final!

I seem to remember he made a few of our national teams. I also recall him getting some grief because he showed up for one of the comps. (WC?) injured and didn't even run a qualifying round.

I am just turning 47, so l was just 10 then. Why the FU would he do a hard workout like that the day of a race, and before not after? That would seem to drastically affect his performance. Why would he do something like that? And it's the National Meet? I remember him from the 5,000 at the world's in 1987. He didn't win and wasn't a factor, but l remember that race.

Why indeed? These are lies. Maree probably could only run a 50 second 400m all out so how the hell is he going to run multiple 400m repeats at that pace? Nonsense.

nelson mandela wrote:

Kind of ironic really. Black South African, discriminated against in his own country because of his skin color. The rest of world, to protest discrimination against blacks, doesn't allow him to compete because he's from a country that discriminates against his people!

No, it wasn't ironic at all.

Blacks were not allowed to compete in sports with whites, nor live in same areas, go to same schools, use same train carriages etc etc.

The whites wanted the world to believe that 'sport was open', by allowing certain elites to run with them, yet their grassroots sports was still underfunded, and the couldn't go to same pub after training or race etc. Contact sports were much later to get in on this ruse.

The elite blacks were enticed with sponsorship and prize money, including getting people like Maree scholarships overseas.

The blacks who forced govt to change boycotted these attempts to lure them, and had contempt forv people like Maree.

The international bodies (not all) rightfully sided with those who fought against the apartheid govt, and Maree was rightfully ostracised.

He did 21 months in da' joint, released March, 2013.

Claims he was framed. Villanova grad, so not to bright, as he transferred coupla hundred K into his own account from some questionable non-profit.

Souly wrote:

. . . even worse for Maree, he was suffering from illness during 1984 and after winning the national 5000m title in May, he fell ill and had not qualified for the Olympic Games to be held in Los Angeles. . . .

This is not accurate. Maree finished third in the Olympic Trials 1500, edging Chuck Aragon by the narrowest of margins. Maree suffered a hamstring injury and was unable to run in the Olympics. However, he did not inform the U.S. Olympic Team officials that he would be unable to run so it was too late for Aragon to take his place.

Bitter regret much?