Track and field stars face stiff challenges
SOUTH AFRICA’S most accomplished track and field athletes will be looking to hold onto their crowns, but they will have to hold off a pack of rising young stars when the ASA Senior Track and Field Championships gets underway in Potchefstroom on Thursday.
All eyes will be on 400m world record holder Wayde van Niekerk in the men’s one-lap sprint, with the former world and Olympic champion aiming to gain momentum after bouncing back from a long-term knee injury.
Van Niekerk won’t have it all his way, however, with world junior champion Lythe Pillay eager to snatch the title.
National 100m record holder Akani Simbine will also have to be near his best if he hopes to return home as the SA champion in the short sprint.
Simbine will be up against the likes of SA 200m record holder Clarence Munyai, who will focus on the 100m dash this week, as well as consistent performer Henricho Bruintjies and 19-year-old prospect Benjamin Richardson who will be targeting a shock victory over his more experienced compatriots.
Another world-class sprinter, Luxolo Adams, will line up as the favourite in the men’s 200m sprint.
In other men’s track events, national 5 000m record holder Elroy Gelant will need to hold off challenges from younger countrymen Ryan Mphahlele and Maxime Chaumeton over 12-and-a-half laps. Gelant will also compete in the 10 000m race and Mphahlele will be among the favourites over the 1 500m distance.
Another SA record holder, Antonio Alkana, will turn out in the men’s 110m hurdles, while African champion Sokwakhana Zazini will toe the line in the 400m hurdles.
In men’s field events, a tough battle is expected in the long jump, with three men in the entry lists having cleared the eight-metre barrier.
Ruswahl Samaai, a former World Championships bronze medallist, will be eager to prove he is still South Africa’s top jumper but he will have to hold off challenges from experienced athlete Zarck Visser and junior prodigy Asande Mthembu.
Other entrants looking to make an impact, include shot put giant Kyle Blignaut and discus thrower Victor Hogan.
Though there isn’t as much depth in the women’s entry lists, a number of athletes will be aiming to shine on the track and in the field.
Defending champion Carina Horn will turn out as the favourite once again in the women’s 100m sprint, while 21-year-old middle-distance prospect Prudence Sekgodiso will be targeting another double in the 800m and 1 500m events.
Long-distance runner Glenrose Xaba will chase her sixth SA title in the 10 000m event and African javelin throw champion Jo-Ane van Dyk is the favourite in her specialist discipline.
Perhaps the most exciting women’s event to be contested will be the women’s 400m hurdles. Former world junior champion Zeney van der Walt will fancy her chances of defending her national title, but she will have to be at her best to beat the likes of African Championships silver medallist Taylon Bieldt and former Youth Olympic Games champion Gezelle Magerman.
Bieldt will double up by turning out in the 100m hurdles as well, but she will need to be in superb form to cause an upset against pre-race favourite Marione Fourie.
The three-day ASA Senior Championships, being held at NWU McArthur Stadium, will come to a close on Sunday. All the action will be broadcast live on SuperSport.