Racial Relations Athletics

Only months after South Africa's all-white team was banned from the Olympic Games, Xolile Yawa was born into a poor black township home with a natural gift that apartheid could not destroy--the ability to run fast. Now, at 28, Yawa is one of the top distance runners in his country and, probably, the world. He holds national records. His best 10,000-meter time of 27:39 would have placed him fourth in the 1988 Games at Seoul.

Only months after South Africa's all-white team was banned from the Olympic Games, Xolile Yawa was born into a poor black township home with a natural gift that apartheid could not destroy--the ability to run fast. Now, at 28, Yawa is one of the top distance runners in his country and, probably, the world. He holds national records. His best 10,000-meter time of 27:39 would have placed him fourth in the 1988 Games at Seoul.