Down Memory Lane
Looking back down Memory Lane to previous Commonwealth Games
TWO Alberton Sportsmen and one sportswoman represented South Africa in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Looking back down Memory Lane to previous Commonwealth Games, Alberton sportsmen did Alberton proud at the 16th Commonwealth Games in 1998, where Alberton sportsmen and women captured the imagination of the town in 1998.
This was how the Alberton RECORD reported about that event back in 1998, as the main news story of the week, under the heading “Doing Alberton proud at the Commonwealth Games – Peet Van Niekerk” on the front page of the paper:
“Two years ago at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, hockey player Brad Milne captured the imagination of Alberton, when he was the town’s only sportsman to actually participate in the official Games. (Wrestler Andrew Davidson withdrew due to injury).
Heading up the Alberton outfit at this year’s 16th Commonwealth Games is once again Meyersdal’s Brad Milne, second goalkeeper of the South African hockey team. Brad performed exceptionally well for the national team in their final pre-games match. His friend from his nursery school days (ooh, that’s a long way back!), Joe Gillingham, made the final try possible in the SA team’s 29-22 win over Papua New Guinea in the rugby sevens opening game. Springbok Joe was also singled out for his brilliant first half performance in South Africa’s second runaway victory over Trinidad. SA sadly lost to Samoa in the quarter finals.
Alberton current Sportsman of the Year, Pat van der Wilden, should be watched in the pistol shooting event (combined with Helena Levy).
Another sportsman with previous Alberton connections, ten pin bowler Richard Aitken, is part of the national team’s onslaught in the ten pin bowling event.”
That was back in the year 1998, but the first-ever Alberton sportsman at the Commonwealth Games was Charl Sam in the boxing event at the 1958 Commonwealth Games in Cardiff.
