Okkert Brits Photo Featured in Book

[rainbowgirl28]

I didn't know he was now semi-retired.


http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fSec ... Id=2276254

Picture perfect

Okkert Brits and Hestrie Cloete star for South Africa in IAAF coffee table book
October 27, 2004

By Karien Jonckheere

The clouds hovering above the Stellenbosch mountains were moving ominously closer.

There wasn't much time, but in the end it only took a few minutes.

The result: what turned out to be the photographer's favourite photo in the book, a striking image of pole vaulter Okkert Brits, balanced on his pole with the mountains as the backdrop and surrounded by vineyards.

It was all part of the International Association of Athletics Federations' (IAAF) book of photos of Athletes Around the World which was released to the public last week.

The project, completed over six months by Getty Images photographer Michael Steele, involved 38
international stars from 20 countries, and is aimed at showing the world's best athletes in a different light, away from the track.

Alongside the images of 20 Olympic champions, 32 world champions, 13 world record holders and numerous continental record holders are the images of Brits and South Africa's queen of athletics Hestrie Cloete.

"Hestrie Cloete and Okkert Brits were selected as part of this very ambitious project because they are two leading figures in the world of athletics, especially in Africa," explained the book's editor and project manager, Laura Arcoleo.

"Hestrie was the Athlete of the Year in 2003 and as such top of our target list for this project. She was photographed in her home town, Coligny, on May 14.

"And Okkert was also an obvious choice for us as African record holder and a member of the elite six metre pole vault club. (Brits is one of only 11 men to have cleared 6m). He was photographed in Stellenbosch on May 19.

"Incidentally Okkert's photograph is the photographer's favourite," added Arcoleo.

Describing that day in May, Brits explained that he and Steele had met for coffee at his friend's wine farm, Zorgvliet, where he conducts most of his interviews and photo shoots.


"It's the most beautiful place I've ever been to, we usually go there for braais on the weekend," said Brits.

"It was a stunning day, but we looked up and saw the clouds coming in so I quickly jumped on the pole, he took two photos and then the whole place was dark, cold and misty. But the result was amazing. Usually these things take hours," said Brits.

"It's just so nice to see something different because usually it's just the same thing over and over when it comes to photos.

"I never realised the outcome would be so absolutely brilliant. It almost looks like I have been computerised into the picture because of the view. I think we don't realise how beautiful our country is.

People overseas freak out about it," he added.

Although describing himself as "semi-retired" now, after the disappointment of Athens where a leg injury kept him from reaching the final, Brits said he hoped he could return to Europe to compete and get the other athletes featured in the book to sign his copy.

"It's something to keep in your bar one day - to remind you. I think this is one of the nicest things I've gotten out of athletics," he remarked.

Other athletes in the bookinclude Morocco's double Olympic champion Hicham El Guerrouj, American 100m champion Justin Gatlin, Sweden's world and Olympic heptathlon champion Carolina Kluft and Mozambican 800m legend Maria Mutola.

"We wanted to show the world's best athletes, from every discipline, in an environment that represents home," explained IAAF president Lamine Diack.

"The beauty of this concept is that it reinforces what for me is the outstanding quality of track and field athletics - our universality."

Copies are available from the IAAF at headquarters@iaaf.org

[Barto]

You could say he has been "semi-retired" since about 98'