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From backyard to Olympic glory: How Terseus Liebenberg shaped Arshad Nadeem | The Express Tribune
The South African coach urges more Diamond League participation for the Olympic record-holder
Olympic Gold medallist Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan once again is determined to be at the podium in the Asian Athletics Championships. PHOTO: REUTERS
KARACHI:
If humility had a face and more so a voice that is both friendly and encouraging, it would be that of the world-renowned athletics coach and author Terseus Liebenberg.
He is a portal, more or less, for people who want to understand how the international javelin community is close-knit, yet trusting, and open to sharing knowledge.
While Pakistan is seeing a rise in the popularity of javelin throw because of Olympian Arshad Nadeem, it is necessary to understand how this community helped him achieve excellence in one of the world’s oldest sports, with that stunning 92.97m throw at Stade de France at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
They say it takes a village to raise a child; it is the same when one looks at the journeys of sports champions. Mostly, it is a community that comes together for that champion athlete, too.
The legacies and legends are a cumulative result of how there are cultural, professional, and human exchanges that shape the fate of national histories through sports.
In this case, for Pakistan, as Arshad’s gold medal and Olympic record-making throw marked the end of the 32-year Olympic Games medal drought for Pakistan, it brought a summer gold medal to the country after 40 years. It was also the first time that an athlete from the country won an Olympic gold medal in an individual sport.
PHOTO COURTESY: NEWS 24
Pakistan’s and Arshad’s link to this community is, undoubtedly, Terseus.
When asked where his love for a sport like javelin throw comes from, his reply is both innocent and insightful, and something that Pakistanis can now relate to, courtesy of Arshad’s feat and witnessing it, albeit second-hand.
“It was such a nice feeling to see the javelin floating in the air,” explained Terseus. “When I was a kid, my dad, who was a physical education teacher, used to bring javelins home. So, my brother and I would play with them in our backyard.”
Terseus went on to play at the national level, and his lifelong love kept him glued to the competition well into his 40s and 50s, and he only gave up participating in the seniors event when his knees gave up.
But it is his coaching career that is fascinating. Pakistanis have a lot to thank him for; his brilliance is imprinted in the careers of the greatest throwers in the world, while his resume is impressive as he coached the South African athletics team in 2008, 2012, and 2016.
In fact, there is a poignant connection, specifically when it comes to the Commonwealth Games history, when Arshad broke the record with 90.18m at the 2022 edition, a few months after receiving training from a South African. That record was set by another one of Tersues’ pupils and former world champion Marius Corbett, who made the games record of 88.75m in 1998.
The South African maestro’s more recent times like that of Jo-Ané van Dyk, who got a silver medal at Paris Olympics, but also he has been the man behind helping Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem in winning the gold medal and creating an Olympic record with a massive 92.97m throw at Stade de France last year, although he would not take the credit for it.
“Paris Olympics were my favourite Games,” he answered to this correspondent’s question about his favourite Olympics yet.
He replied with a delight that one could feel through the phone.
“In the 2016 Rio Olympics, we won a silver with South Africa’s Sunette Viljoen, and now van Dyk, and it was an honour to coach her as she is an awesome woman and athlete, with a lot of integrity, and she has impeccable values and work ethic.
“And of course, it was wonderful to see Arshad throw; it was super.”
That is where his humility shows, more than he probably knows, because it is clear that his teaching has come in extremely handy to Arshad’s team, even though Terseus was more in the consultation role than actual coaching since last year.
Terseus had first seen Arshad in 2022 when the latter was sent for the training in Potchefstroom, and since then, the 69-year-old has been a guiding force to the Pakistani athlete’s team.
It is a fruitful relationship that has given Arshad enough to win the 2022 Commonwealth Games record-breaking win, 2022 Islamic Solidarity Games gold medal, 2023 World Championship silver medal, and the history-making Olympic Games performance in 2024.
The Pakistani athlete’s own coach, Salman Butt, has not been a javelin throw expert himself; in fact, he has been a national discus throw champion in his younger days. Still, he does not have any coaching qualification, according to the Athletics Federation of Pakistan, but he has learned most things on the job since 2022.
He was appointed to work as a coordinator when Arshad first went to get initial coaching in South Africa.
Fiaz Bokhari mentored and trained Arshad till the Tokyo Olympics, where he took fifth place in his Summer Games debut, creating history by becoming the first track and field athlete to compete in the final. But later, Arashd was left coachless for a while, before Butt was appointed as the coordinator/translator in possibly a co-coaching capacity, as the athlete needed help in understanding instructions from the English language, right before the 2022 World Athletics Championships and the Commonwealth Games. Since then, Butt has been more or less a self-appointed coach, manager, mentor, and one-man army for the support staff.
Butt’s main job was to help Arshad understand Terseus’ teaching and train in Potchefstroom, and later continue to implement the technical training plans in Lahore with regular consultations from Terseus.
“I have coached Arshad in 2022 and 2023, and from then onward it has been a more consultative role, where I analyse the video, see the training design. But I am so humbled that I have been able to play a small part in Pakistan’s sports history.
“I was honoured to have received a letter from the Athletics Federation of Pakistan, even Arshad, Salman, and his physician, Dr Ali Bajwa, had been wonderful.
“I am very happy with Arshad’s achievement, and I hope to be of service in the future too.”
A peek into Terseus’ personal journey to building the javelin community in Potchefstroom
In Tersues’s personal journey, he dedicated his life to perfecting the knowledge of javelin throw. His book is one of the resources that can guide not only the coaches but also the javelin throw fan, and he has thanked Dr Frank Dick for taking him under his wing in a time when the South African sports community had limited avenues to compete and learn.
“My competition years were when we had apartheid, so it was difficult, and we were banned, but I was always curious to know more, and I was always searching for knowledge, and that’s when I took part in the coaching conference at the Loughborough Summer School Athletics Course of 1985.
“It was more than a conference, it was a week-long program, and Dr Frank knew how difficult it was for me to acquire the knowledge of the sport, so he helped us a lot.
“In fact, Dr Frank played a key role. He got us, Arshad, Salman Butt, and me together.”
Tersues has clear principles in the life he lives and the global javelin throw community he has helped to build in Potchefstroom, South Africa, where the world’s greatest javelin thrower and current coach of Neeraj Chopra, Jan Zelezny, has been returning to the camp since 1992.
Another renowned coach, Finland’s Kari Ihalainen, is a regular fixture in Potchefstroom too. Terseus’ hometown is a place where athletes want to come to if they want to train for javelin, with a wide network of experts connected to him.
Tersues was also named the best coach of the last three decades by the South African Athletics Association in 2022.
Potchefstroom has also been a place where Tersues has been athletics manager at the North-West University, which has been a great program to hone the skills of the talented new athletes, too.
He lives with ideals like, “Learn as if you were to live forever; Live as if you were to die tomorrow,” and “movement is life, and life is movement.”
When one talks to him, it is difficult not to smile and feel motivated, and this quality of his certainly shows that he is a coach who has spent a great deal of time with athletes shaping their careers and their characters simultaneously.
“The world javelin community is very open to sharing the knowledge and experience, and, amazingly, we have greats like Jan and Kari with us, and it truly shows that they are not only training athletes to follow great examples, but also to become great leaders too,” Terseus reflected on quality of people and shared experience of the old and new professionals in the field.
The huge shift in javelin from Europe to Asia and Africa
Javelin as a sport is changing very quickly, and one of the shifts has been the emergence of South Asian throwers like Neeraj and Arshad.
“Just 15 years ago, who couldn’t even think that South Asians would be winning in javelin throw? It was more of a Scandinavian sport, but then Europe came ahead.
“But Neeraj brought this incredible energy with his wins, and what is happening now is a huge swing of javelin; we see throwers from Asia, Africa, and China.”
When asked if he could name the throwers that one can watch out for, he had a quick list for women. This included his athlete South Africa’s Jo-Ane du Plessis, Serbia’s Adriana Vilagoš, China’s Ziyi Yan, while when it comes to the men’s side of the competition he feels it is hard to pick, but atheltes like Julian Weber has been performing well, however, he had faced stomach issues in Tokyo during the 2025 World Athletics Championship that kept him out of the podium, similarly, Brazil’s Luis Mauricio de Silva, Keshorn Walcott and Neeraj along with Arshad are all wonderful giants with big throws.
Arshad must prioritise Diamond League meets
He believes that it is a wave of the shift from Europe to Asia and Africa in javelin throw that will last a long time, with more javelin throwers coming from India after Neeraj’s stellar 2020 Olympics gold medal, and he is hoping to see more Pakistanis take up the sport.
He feels Yasir Sultan is a great addition to the newer throwers, but the youngster still needs more exposure at the Diamond Leagues in Europe, much like Arshad, who has been painfully absent from the meets, even though the fans and the organisers want him to participate in them.
He recalled that when he first saw Arshad in 2022, he felt that the boy from Mian Chunnu, Khanewal, had something special, which could be worked with.
“You can pick that up. I was amazed when I saw him the first time. I knew very little about who he was. I never saw his performance before, but the thing that really defines him is his competitive mindset. He is incredible; he has that big-match mentality and temperament. He is introverted, focused, and a dream to work with. I remember he had that incredible pull on the javelin, great leverage, and amazing block, but we worked on the last three steps with him back then, and improved the connection of the upper and lower body.
“He has a very strong-willed and strong mind. I have known some of the best throwers in the world, and Arshad is in the league of his own when it comes to it,” said Tersues.
Happiness begets success
Although Arshad is going through a rough patch, with a calf injury and a surgery that took place on it only two months ago, and his coach is facing a lifetime ban by the Athletics Federation of Pakistan, Terseus believes that Arshad can come back.
But more importantly, for every athlete, they need to enjoy what they are doing.
His parting message was that success is the result of happiness, and it is not that happiness is the result of success. And so he wishes happiness and urges all to dream big and achieve them.
Wisconsin transfer John Blackwell has committed to Duke, he told ESPN on Tuesday.
Blackwell, who visited Duke on Monday, was the best guard to enter the transfer portal this spring.
“It just felt right,” Blackwell told ESPN. “It felt like the right situation for me. I just connected with Coach [Jon Scheyer] on a different level. We built a connection in these past weeks of just talking to him and him selling why Duke is the right spot for me. Me taking this visit was just confirmation on why I should be at Duke.”
Blackwell, a 6-foot-4 guard, earned third-team All-Big Ten honors this past season after averaging a career-high 19.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists, shooting nearly 39% from 3-point range.
He was at his best in the postseason. Blackwell had 34 points and 10 rebounds in the third round of the Big Ten tournament against Washington, following it with 31 points on 9-for-17 shooting in an overtime win over Illinois. While Wisconsin was upset by 12-seed High Point in the first round of the men’s NCAA tournament, Blackwell finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds against the Panthers.
Blackwell, who is represented by Todd Ramasar and Alexis Liatsos at Life Sports Agency, will have the opportunity to carry that momentum over to Duke.
“Their pitch to me was, come here, have freedom,” Blackwell said. “You can come here and be a draft pick, and that’s always my dream. Come here and help us win a national championship. Those are just things I love to hear. I love the campus, I love the people surrounding Duke. That’s why I made my choice to be a Blue Devil.”
Blackwell, who is still going through the NBA draft process, is joining a backcourt that includes returnees Caleb Foster (8.3 PPG) and Cayden Boozer (7.7 PPG), as well as five-star recruit Deron Rippey Jr. The junior guard said when he entered the portal that he wants to show more on-ball responsibility, meaning Scheyer will have plenty of options as playmakers next season.
“They have four PGs. I would consider myself a point guard,” Blackwell said. “We’re just going to push each other everyday. [When you] have a deep backcourt like we’re going to have, it’s going to be a matchup nightmare for teams. I’m just so excited to play with those guys and challenge those guys. And they challenge me every single day.”
Scheyer has been reloading his roster since last month’s Elite Eight loss to UConn. Projected top-five pick Cameron Boozer is out the door, with projected first-rounder Isaiah Evans expected to follow. Maliq Brown is out of eligibility and freshman Nikolas Khamenia entered the portal and transferred to UConn.
But Duke received positive news on Monday with the return of honorable mention All-ACC big man Patrick Ngongba II, while Cayden Boozer, Foster and potentially Dame Sarr are also likely to return to Durham.
The Blue Devils are also bringing in the nation’s top-ranked recruiting class, led by three top-25 seniors, and added Belmont transfer Drew Scharnowski this past weekend.
But Scheyer desperately needed a high-level scorer to round out his roster, an experienced bucket-getter to lead the offense. And he landed the best one on the market in Blackwell.
“Their track record with producing pros definitely played a part in it,” he said. “Not so much with them producing pros, but them developing pros. I don’t think at any other school, there’s only a few, where you can get that certain level of development. That’s major for me.”
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Shortly after the maize and blue confetti fell in celebration of Michigan’s win over UConn in the national championship game, college basketball’s transfer portal was officially opened.
According to reports, over 2,000 Division I men’s basketball players have already entered their names into the portal, which will be open for two weeks, from April 7 to April 21.
It’s a deep and talented pool of transfers who will have a significant impact on the outcome of the 2026-27 college basketball season.
We ranked the top 20 transfers to keep an eye on over the next two weeks as transfer decisions unfold.
Burton is a dual-threat scoring guard. He led the ACC in scoring with 21.3 points per game as a sophomore and then followed that up by averaging 18.5 points per game during his junior year at Notre Dame. After three seasons with the Fighting Irish, Burton enters the portal with one year of eligibility remaining.
Update: Burton has committed to play for Indiana.
Freeman is a budding star who can score at all three levels. He plays with a smoothness to his game, averaging 16.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game en route to earning honorable mention All-ACC honors. He was a former five-star recruit in the 2024 high school class, but he has battled injuries throughout his first two seasons at Syracuse. Freeman has two years of eligibility remaining.
Update: Freeman has committed to play for St. John’s
Sherrell is a physical presence with a strong motor on the glass. He averaged 11.1 points and 6.2 rebounds in 23.9 minutes per game as a sophomore at Alabama. In a system that emphasized high-volume 3-point shooting, his full skill set wasn’t on display. With two years of eligibility remaining, he could emerge as a do-it-all forward in a different role.
Update: Sherrell has committed to play for Indiana.
Diop is an athletic big man, and at 7-foot-1, he’s a rim-protecting presence and a capable lob threat. He averaged 13.6 points and 2.1 blocks per game in his freshman season at Arizona State. He was born in Senegal and came to the United States from Spain before last season. At 21 years old, he has more experience than most rising sophomores.
Lewis is a dynamic guard whose game is built on getting into the lane and creating for himself and his teammates. One of the best finishers in the nation, he averaged 12.2 points and 5.3 assists per game while leading Villanova to the NCAA Tournament. Lewis has three years of eligibility remaining but has also entered his name into NBA Draft consideration and the transfer portal.
Update: Lewis has committed to play for Miami.
Cyril is an imposing paint presence on both sides of the ball. He’s an elite rim-protector and efficient pick-and-roll partner. He averaged 9.3 points and 2.2 blocks per game during his sophomore season at Georgia, while only playing 21.2 minutes per game. There’s room for a breakout if the playing time increases, and Cyril has two years of eligibility remaining to prove that.
Update: Cyril has committed to play for Miami (Fla.).
Nik Khamenia was one of five freshman who played heavy minutes for Duke this past season. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
Khamenia is a versatile wing and former top-20 recruit whose role was limited on a loaded Duke roster as a freshman. He averaged 5.7 points and 3.3 rebounds in 19.8 minutes per game. With expanded opportunity, he’s a strong candidate to make a major leap as a sophomore.
Update: Khamenia has committed to play for UConn.
Hill is another elite-level shot maker, overcoming his 6-foot-3 stature with a decisive dribble and high-arcing release. He left his mark on the 2026 NCAA Tournament, knocking down a game-winning shot to lift No. 11 seed VCU over No. 6 seed North Carolina in the first round. Hill averaged 15.0 points per game, shooting 37% from 3-point range en route to earning A-10 Sixth Man of the Year honors. He provided an offensive punch off the bench for the Rams but is certainly a starting caliber player at the high-major level with two years of eligibility remaining.
Update: Hill has committed to play for Tennessee.
Byrd is a standout on both ends of the floor. He withdrew his name from the NBA Draft last year and returned to San Diego State, where he averaged 10.4 points and 4.7 assists per game along with 1.2 blocks and 1.9 steals per contest. He was one of the top defenders in the nation this past season, earning Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Update: Byrd has committed to play for Providence.
Johnson is another go-to scoring guard. He separates himself with his ability to facilitate and initiate. He averaged 16.9 points and 3.0 assists per game, leading Colorado in scoring as a freshman while coming off the bench for the first half of the season. With three years of eligibility remaining, Johnson could emerge as the face of a program and the focal point offensively.
Update: Johnson has committed to play for Texas.
Moustapha Thiam was a significant part of Cincinnati’s late-season surge, averaging 17.7 points over the final nine games. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
Thiam is a crafty big man with a traditional back-to-the-basket game. He’s also an athletically-gifted defender, averaging a Big 12-best 2.6 blocks per game as a freshman at UCF and later helped Cincinnati finish 10th nationally in KenPom defensive efficiency. Entering his junior year, he’s a candidate to break out at his third program.
Vaaks is an elite perimeter shooter with good size, standing at 6-foot-7, which will allow him to consistently get his shot off no matter what level he plays at. He averaged 15.8 points per game while shooting 35% from 3-point range as a freshman at Providence. He started 14 of the final 15 games of the season, increasing his numbers to 18.0 points per game.
Update: Vaaks has committed to play for Illinois.
Shelstad is an offensive engine, creating for himself at all three levels while also facilitating for his teammates. His endless range, blinding speed and timely decision-making makes up for his size (6-foot). He earned All-Big Ten honors as a sophomore but only played 12 games during his junior year at Oregon before sustaining a season-ending hand injury. He averaged 15.6 points and 4.9 assists per game for the Ducks.
Update: Shelstad has committed to play for Louisville.
Murauskas is a three-level scorer. He uses his height to score inside, but is also a talented perimeter shooter both off the catch and dribble. He averaged 18.4 points and 7.6 rebounds per game in his junior season at Saint Mary’s. Murauskas started his college career at Arizona, then played two seasons with the Gaels, entering the portal after head coach Randy Bennett left for Arizona State.
Haggerty is a high-level shot taker and maker, averaging 23.6 points per game on 48.9% shooting at Kansas State this past season. He previously led the American Conference in scoring at Memphis in 2024–25.
Update: Haggerty has committed to play for Texas A&M.
Robert Wright III has led two programs to the NCAA Tournament, and will seek a third school in the NCAA transfer portal. (Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
Wright plays a downhill, attacking style, always looking to penetrate the lane with his dribble to create for himself and his teammates. He averaged 18.1 points and 4.6 assists per game for BYU during his sophomore season. He also improved as a shooter, increasing his 3-point percentage from 35.2% to 41.0%. It will be Wright’s second consecutive offseason entering the transfer portal, as he went from Baylor to BYU and now will play for a third school in three years.
Update: Wright has returned to play for BYU.
Punch is a steady interior presence on both sides of the ball, with an especially-high IQ on offense. At 6-foot-7, 245 pounds, and without a 3-point shot in his arsenal, he’s undersized and might not fit every system. However, he averaged 14.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game in his sophomore season at TCU.
Update: Punch has committed to play for Texas.
Harris averaged 21.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per game during his sophomore season at Wake Forest. He thrives in the mid-range, shooting 55.5% from inside the arc, but still has room to improve from the outside. Harris can be the lead scorer on a high-major team with two years of eligibility remaining.
Blackwell averaged 19.1 points per game during his junior season at Wisconsin. In his three seasons in Madison, the Badgers were unable to advance past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament, so Blackwell is seeking a place to compete for his final season of eligibility.
Flory Bidunga won Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year in his sophomore season at Kansas. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
Bidunga averaged 13.3 points and 2.6 blocks per game during his sophomore season at Kansas. His rim-protection prowess earned him Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honors and a spot on the all-conference team. Bidunga entered his name into the NBA Draft, while keeping his portal options open.
Update: Bidunga has committed to play for Louisville.
FIFA is putting more World Cup tickets on sale after angering some fans by adding new, more expensive categories.
Soccer’s governing body announced Tuesday it will make more tickets available at 11 a.m. ET Wednesday for all 104 games in Categories 1, 2 and 3 plus the new “front category” pricing it added this month.
The new category sparked online complaints from fans who said they thought the better seats in the categories they had bought tickets for were withheld and they were assigned less favorable locations.
FIFA in December put tickets on sale at prices ranging from $140 for Category 3 in the first round to $8,680 for the final, then raised prices to as much as $10,990 when sales reopened on April 1.
FIFA did not respond to an April 9 request for comment about the new ticket categories it added.
Also Tuesday, The Athletic reported that tickets sales are lagging for the U.S. opener against Paraguay on June 12 at Inglewood, California. It said a document distributed to local organizers dated April 10 said 40,934 tickets had been purchased for the U.S.-Paraguay game and 50,661 for the Iran-New Zealand contest on April 15. FIFA projects SoFi’s World Cup capacity at about 69,650, noting it may change.
FIFA’s December sale priced U.S.-Paraguay tickets at $1,120, $1,940 and $2,735, and Iran-New Zealand seats at $140, $380 and $450.
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