Athletics South Africa president flooded with messages from disgruntled athletes over Gold Coast 2018 snubs

Athletics South Africa (ASA) president Aleck Skhosana says he has received numerous messages from aggrieved athletes over their omission from the country’s team for the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Only 13 track and field athletes were included in the South Africa squad, which was announced by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) on Tuesday (January 30).

It includes the likes of two-time Olympic gold medallist Caster Semenya, who will attempt to win gold over 800 metres and 1,500m at the Games, as well as Luvo Manyonga, the world champion and Olympic silver medallist in the long jump, and two-time Commonwealth Games gold medal-winning javelin thrower Sunette Viljoen. But notable names such as Khotso Mokoena and Cornel Fredericks, the reigning Commonwealth champions in the triple jump and 400m hurdles respectively, have been left out. According to Sowetan Live, SASCOC has argued that they had not made the required top 10 in the Commonwealth rankings following the closure of the qualifying window on December 31.

Other leading athletes who failed to make the cut were long-distance runners Stephen Mokoka and Mapaseka Makhanya. Sowetan Live has seen a list of 24 track and field athletes that the ASA sent to SASCOC. “We submitted a list to SASCOC that we believe were suitable, but it is not our prerogative when it came down to the final team,” Skhosana was reported as saying by Sowetan Live.

He added: “My e-mail is flooded with [messages from] disgruntled coaches and athletes, but I told them it’s not the end of the road.

“We still have the IAAF [International Association of Athletics Federations] World Indoor Championships, the World Cup and the African Championships coming up.”