By GARY LEMKE in Paris
Walking past the open doors of the Team South Africa office you notice the chef de mission sitting with a thousand yard stare and talking to himself. Or so it appears, but it’s not the case. Leon Fleiser is on another call on his hands-free phone. It sounds like that particular conversation has ended because he says “bye” and then almost immediately he says “hello”.
I have a scheduled appointment with him at 2pm in Team SA’s building within the Paris 2024 Olympic village. It is now 3pm. He beckons with his hands, seems to be signalling “come here and sit”.
It’s exactly that because when he says “bye” to that caller, he apologises for the delay. “It’s been one thing after another, apologies. Let’s chat now because when we come up for air it will already be midnight.”
There’s little exaggeration to that. Hours morph into days and days morph into weeks. And then it’s time to go home. Team SA’s operations room, which has an adjoining physio area and doctor’s clinic, is always busy. It’s the proverbial hive of activity and a constant stream of athletes, managers, volunteers and general support staff.
Laughter however, keeps the mood light. There are no comfortable couches or armchairs for staff or visitors. Desks are makeshift and a white message board keeps track of comings and goings, including athletes’ transport and training times.
Fleiser has, without question, the loudest laugh. You hear him before you see him and if something really tickles him it builds and then becomes something resembling the call in the wild. It comes from the belly.
However, there is a serious side to him. Some of us have seen it and even been on the receiving end. “I have no qualms on sending someone home if they have to be sent home,” he says, matter-of-factly.
As someone who has himself competed at the highest level – he was a member of the Sydney 2000 Paralympics wheelchair basketball team – he understands and appreciates what is required to be team delegation leader. Which is exactly what chef de mission means.
He is making history by becoming the first former para-athlete to be a chef de mission at an Olympics. It is recognition of his evolution as a leader, having attended his first Games as Team SA general team management at Beijing 2008. Since then he has been to every Games and was chef de mission at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. This is now the Olympics.
He has been in a wheelchair for the last 33 years, the result of being in the wrong place at the wrong time in Hillbrow, shortly before his 21st birthday. “25th May 1991. I was paralysed instantly. But, I never gave up on life and I’ve always looked at the positives and the good side in people. I have three wonderful children and an amazing wife and a job that I love.”
The job title might be chef de mission but in reality it’s jack of all trades. “There’s so much truth to that,” he says. “As South Africans we make a plan and at Team SA the athletes come first. We live that mantra on a daily basis. We are unique, we multitask, help each other. In the so-called bigger countries there’s not that seem. We have a streamlined backroom operation, despite being one of the bigger squads with 138 members. When things go wrong we make a plan. We get food and water for the athletes if they don;t have, we even go and fix their toilets, faulty plugs. Or, at least we try to.” And he laughs. Then he’s serious again.
“These Olympics have been really admin intensive, they’ve been hard. That’s despite SASCOC hiring more staff over the years to assist with visas, flights and so on. For these Games there’s been pressure on us to deliver our squad on time, and give the athletes every possible chance of performing at their best.
“The other night we were chatting about that aspect and the obvious answer is that we’ve had three years to prepare. Tokyo ws held over from 2020 to 2021 and one needs that four-year cycle to prepare. Some of the ‘bigger’ nations have already got their sights on Los Angeles 2028.”
There must be buzzing in his ear because he says, “I can’t talk, I’ll phone you back”. I must look puzzled. He says, “that’s an update on the delivery of our team pins for the athletes. where were we?” Oh yes. As easy as a Games can be, they’re still hard. Plus, these are the first Games since Covid. As strange as it sounds, we have had to get to the new norm of no Covid rules and protocols.”
Team SA is represented by 19 sports, the most in the country’s history, which is an example of the strides they have taken. It’s not the biggest squad in terms of numbers, given the only team sports are rugby sevens and hockey, but the net is cast wider.
“EWe actually don;t have any new codes here that haven’t represented us before. We were hoping that breaking (break dancing) would be here but we didn’t qualify. At the Paralympics we will be delivering more sports too, like para-taekwondo, para-triathlon and para-boccia, which we haven’t qualified for before.
“One of the reasons for increased sports representation is because for the first time we have funded every sport, It may not be where we eventually want to get to in terms of financing, but we have got money to every sporting code. Plus, we have qualified six athletes that are on our 2028 programme, so that’s exciting.
“These are going to be a special Games. The biggest thing about Paris is that they are hosting a Games that no one else can. All the venues are iconic, with rugby sevens and athletics at the Stade de France, archery and fencing and so on along the Champs Elysées. That will be special.
We may as well address the elephant in the room. Fleiser sees it coming. “We never talk about how many medals we are projecting, because that would put added pressure on the athletes. They are already under pressure and with them there is a two-pronged view – on the field success and off the field success. If our athletes are good ambassadors off the field and are an example to people back home then on the field success will follow.
“It’s understandable that some, especially the first-time Olympics, will be star-struck. I’m not. Just yesterday an athlete said they saw the world No1 in their sport … I interrupted and said to them, ‘and that world No1 saw another Olympic athlete. Remember, you’re here on an equal footing, you’re staying in the Olympic village and you have the OLY behind your name.”
We could go on talking for ages, where minutes become hours in a heartbeat. But there’s work to be done, at times one feels as though you’re even sleeping with one eye open. Besides, Fleiser needs to take another call. “Hello. Yes, please come down to the office, we have to sort out your room keys and validate your accreditation.”