An Eastern Cape teenager with a knack for indoor rowing machines was plucked from obscurity to compete outdoors on the water in the US — and almost won the international rowing event.
Athabile Msindo, 18, had only ever had a few hours' practice in a “fine boat” — a narrow sliding-seat rowing boat used for racing — when he was packed off to Washington, courtesy of US philanthropist Arshay Cooper.
Msindo grew up in the rural town of Matatiele before moving to Lawhill Maritime Centre in Simon’s Town, where he started rowing in the sea. But it was his power and determination on an indoor exercise rowing machine that caught Cooper’s attention during a visit to Cape Town last year, prompting an invitation to compete with other promising rowers in the US.
“I felt I was in the movies,” Msindo said of his trip at the end of July, the first time anybody in his family had travelled overseas. “I was fascinated and amazed by the new place. Everything is huge, even the cars.”
But his excitement turned to despair on realising he couldn’t stay upright in an actual racing boat. “I felt so behind. Everybody was doing their thing and I was out there still trying to balance. When I tried to row, the boat would flip over.”
It didn’t help that the only South African to compete in the same event — another Lawhill student picked last year — had capsized during the main event and never finished despite valiant efforts.
Msindo, however, credits Cooper for restoring his confidence, and he finished fourth out of a field of 22, which included some experienced rowers. “I was having problems because of the pressure of working hard and not being on the level of the other athletes, but Arshay would make me feel relaxed. He always believed in me.”
Cooper shot to fame in the US on the back of an award-winning book about his own rowing career that saw him lead the first African-American high school rowing team. The book inspired an Apple TV/Amazon Prime documentary, A Most Beautiful Thing, and a foundation to help marginalised youths.
I went there expecting to give, but I realised that while one might make it your mission to save every child you can, you can’t forgot forget the child in you. That’s one of the things I told the (Lawhill) children: ‘We are not waiting on Superman — we are waiting on ourselves’
— Arshay Cooper
He visited South Africa last year at the invitation of Lawhill Centre after the programme head Debbie Owen read his book and kept nagging him to visit. “I just knew his story would resonate with our children,” said Owen.
Cooper was so impressed with Lawhill’s empowerment success, targeting disadvantaged youth in a maritime education programme, that he decided to sponsor some local rowing students to join his annual rowing camp outside Vermont. He was also impressed with Msindo’s “erg score” on the rowing machine — a term used to describe power performance. “He had the cutting edge on the machine — his engine was just great,” Cooper told the Sunday Times from the US.
Cooper said he believed his personal journey, from Chicago ganglands to celebrity status, resonated with the South Africans, and even helped his own healing process. “At 40 there are still things you battle. The difference was that I was willing to talk about things I haven’t healed from, and that allowed me to connect with them in a way that I think nobody has.
“I went there expecting to give, but I realised that while one might make it your mission to save every child you can, you can’t forget the child in you. That’s one of the things I told the [Lawhill] children: ‘We are not waiting on Superman — we are waiting on ourselves. We are the owners of how South Africa heals’,” he said.
Cooper was “blown away” by the spirit of his South African rowers, starting with Thobeka Mavundla, last year’s invitee who spent his race cheering rivals from atop his upturned boat. “He was so generous and his spirit was so bright. His boat flipped and he just got on top of it and cheered the others — that is the kind of guy he is,” said Cooper, who had similar praise for Msindo’s generosity of spirit.
A third student, Curtley van Wyk from the University of the Western Cape, joined Msindo at Cooper’s rowing camp to compete against rowers from the US, the UK and the Bahamas.
Through his foundation, Cooper and partner Concept2, a manufacturer of quality sports equipment, raised funds to sponsor rowing machines for Lawhill’s rowing team and other local clubs. He wants to help disadvantaged youngsters benefit from what in South Africa and the US is mainly a white sport. “I believe that rowing combined with education breaks the cycle of poverty.”
Cooper is due back in South Africa this month at the invitation of several local rowing clubs, including the Soweto Rowing Club and UWC Rowing. He will also host and speak at two exclusive screenings of his award-winning documentary.
Msindo said the US trip strengthened his resolve to succeed in his rowing career and dreams of becoming a ship’s captain. He said his success was particularly pleasing for his mother, who had encouraged him to enrol at Lawhill. “She was very, very happy for me.”
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.