Legendary coach Jean Verster on his role as the Olympic team manager in Paris

Verster, who has coached prominent athletes like Hazekiel Sepeng, Caster Semenya, and Nigel Amos, is committed to putting in the extra hours to ensure the athletes are well-prepared and settled for their events at the Olympic Stadium from 1-11 August.

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''I think you never sleep, it's everything from making sure that the athletes are comfortable, making sure they have training schedules, making sure they have transport to get to all the training venues and coordinate with their coaches and that's the role of the manager,'' said Verster.

Verster first gained recognition as a coach before transitioning into administration, where he has excelled as the president of Central North West Athletics, transforming Potchefstroom into a hub for the sport. This is not the first time he has taken on such a significant role.

''I have been involved now since we were elected in 2021, I was also in the previous Olympics in Tokyo seeing that it was one year late due to covid, in 2022 at the World Champions and last year at the  Senior World Champions I was also team manager. So we have gotten used to the experience of managing the players. Hopefully all goes well this year at the Paris Olympics,'' added Verster.

Verster will manage a team of 35 athletes and emphasized that it is never an easy job, often requiring him to sacrifice sleep.