Chef de mission Leon Fleiser is Team SA’s No 1 cheerleader, fixer and jack of all trades

Rugby Sevens players Libbie Janse van Rensburg and Marlize de Bruin practise on 5 July in Pretoria before heading to the Paris Games. Photo: Deaan Vivier/Gallo Images

By Gary Lemke

28 Jul 2024

The former Paralympian is South Africa’s chef de mission in Paris, a position that keeps him busy day and night. But he loves it.

Walking past the open door of the Team South Africa office in the Paris 2024 Olympic Village, one notices the chef de mission as he sits with a thousand-yard stare, talking to himself. Or so it appears, but it’s not the case.

Leon Fleiser is on yet another call on his hands-free phone. This particular conversation has ended because he says “bye” and then almost immediately says “hello”. I had a scheduled appointment with him at 2pm; it is now 3pm.

He beckons me inside with his hands and apologises for the delay. “It’s been one thing after another. Let’s chat now because when we come up for air it will already be midnight,” says Fleiser.

That’s no exaggeration. Hours morph into days and days into weeks at the Olympics. Team SA’s operations room, which has an adjoining physio area and a doctor’s clinic, is always busy. It’s the proverbial hive of activity as a constant stream of athletes, managers, volunteers and general support staff pass through.

There are no comfortable couches or armchairs for staff or visitors. The desks are makeshift and a white message board keeps track of all the comings and goings, including athletes’ transport and training times.

Laughter, however, keeps the mood light. Fleiser has the loudest laugh, without question. You hear him before you see him and if something really amuses him, that laugh comes straight from his belly.

There is a serious side to him, too. Some of us have seen it and even been on the receiving end of it. “I have no qualms to send someone home if they have to be sent home,” he says matter-of-factly.

Making history

Fleiser was a member of the Sydney 2000 Paralympics wheelchair basketball team. As someone who has competed at the highest level, he understands and appreciates what is required to be the team delegation’s leader, or chef de mission.

He has made history by being the first former para athlete to be a chef de mission at an Olympics. His position reflects his evolution as a leader, having been a member of Team SA’s general management at Beijing 2008. Since then, he has been to every Games and was chef de mission at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.

Fleiser has been in a wheelchair for 33 years, the result of being in the wrong place at the wrong time in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, shortly before his 21st birthday.

“It was 25 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,” he says. “I have three wonderful children and an amazing wife and a job that I love.”

Wayde van Niekerk of South Africa competes in the men’s 400m final at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, on 24 August 2023. (Photo: Christian Bruna / EPA-EFE)

His job title might be chef de mission, but in reality it’s jack of all trades.

“There’s so much truth to that,” Fleiser 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 seam. 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.”

He laughs before becoming serious again. “These Olympics have been really admin intensive. They’ve been hard. That’s despite Sascoc [the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee] hiring more staff over the years to help with visas, flights and so on,” Fleiser says.

“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 was 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 a buzzing in his ear because he says: “I can’t talk, I’ll phone you back.”

I must look puzzled because he adds: “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 normal of no Covid rules and protocols.”

Team SA is represented by 19 sporting codes, 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 that the only team sports are sevens rugby and hockey, but the net has been cast wider.

“We actually don’t have any new codes here that haven’t represented us before. We were hoping that breaking [breakdancing] would be here, but we didn’t qualify.”

At the Paralympics, which will take place from 28 August to 8 September, Team SA will comprise athletes from more sports. “We will be delivering sports 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 who are in our 2028 programme, so that’s exciting.

“These are going to be a special Games. The biggest thing about Paris is that [the French Olympic Committee] is hosting a Games that no one else can. All the venues are iconic, with rugby sevens and athletics at the Stade de France, and archery and fencing and so on along the Champs-Elysées. That will be special.”

Rugby sevens players Libbie Janse van Rensburg and Marlize de Bruin practise on 5 July 2024 in Pretoria before heading to the Paris Games. (Photo: Deaan Vivier / Gallo Images)

Medal hopes

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,” he says.

“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 an example to people back home, then on-the-field success will follow.

“It’s understandable that some, especially the first-time Olympians, will be star-struck. I’m not.

“Just yesterday an athlete said they saw the world No 1 in their sport. I interrupted and said to them: ‘And that world No 1 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,” he says, referring to the post-nominal letters granted by the World Olympians Association to registered athletes who have participated in the Olympics.

We could go on talking for ages, but 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.” DM

Gary Lemke is in Paris as part of Team SA.

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.

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Making history

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