MiscellanyJosia Thugwane of South Africa raced to...

Miscellany

Josia Thugwane of South Africa raced to fame and fortune when he won the Olympic marathon last month. Now he questions if it was worth it.

Thugwane’s family has moved from the shack that was its longtime home and he wonders if he will be killed for the thousands of dollars in prizes he has won because of his Olympic victory.

“Everyone is talking about the plan to kill me,” Thugwane told the Star newspaper of Johannesburg. “I do not know who these crooks are, but if they say they will kill someone, they always do.”

Thugwane, 25, said news of his rewards had spread throughout the impoverished black settlement of Emzinoni, where he lived with his wife and four children.

As in most poor areas, success and wealth can breed jealousy and attempts by neighbors and gangs to grab some of the money.

Crime is common in black townships, and Thugwane barely survived an attempt by thugs earlier this year to take a car he won in a road race. He jumped out of the moving vehicle with his chin sliced open by an errant bullet.

Mike Nunnally, who lost to eventual Olympic gold medalist David Reid in the semifinals of the U.S. Boxing Championships, drowned in Lake Superior Monday near Marquette, Mich. He was 23.

The federal government should consider helping U.S. cities pay for major infrastructure improvements needed for future Olympics, President Clinton said. In an interview in “Olympic Review,” the magazine of the International Olympic Committee, Clinton said the massive finances of staging and organizing the games can strain private sources.

“I think that when an Olympic city is confronted with significant infrastructure expenses that cannot be met through private investments, the federal government should be willing to look at the situation,” the president said.

Soccer

North Carolina’s men’s team will miss a weekend tournament at Nevada Las Vegas and is on athletic probation for the rest of the year following the hospitalization of a freshman player after a drinking binge.

Nwankwo Kanu, the newly signed Nigerian forward of Internazionale of Milan, has a serious heart problem that probably will end his career. Dr. Bruno Caru said Kanu, 20, will have to have surgery soon to replace a weak aortic valve.

Soccer’s world governing body and international labor unions reached an agreement to try to remove child labor in the production of soccer balls. Nearly 80% of the balls used in the U.S. are made by child labor in Pakistan.

Names in the News

Prairie View A&M; suspended football Coach and Athletic Director Hensley Sapenter and launched an investigation into possible NCAA and Southwestern Athletic Conference infractions.