SA selectors with red faces
RIO DE JANEIRO: Athletics South Africa’s (ASA) selection bungles have come back to haunt them with the athletes now carrying the burden of blame after no-one advanced from the men’s 200m heats at the Rio Olympics.
The omission of national champion Akani Simbine from the longer sprint was even more glaring given that he finished in a creditable fifth place in the men’s 100m final on Sunday.
World championships bronze medallist Anaso Jobodwana finished fourth in his heat yesterday in a time of 20.56 seconds. Teenagers Gift Leotlela and Clarence Munyai also missed out on the semi-final, clocking 20.59s and 20.66s respectively in their heats.
Jobodwana was one of the surprise packages at the London 2012 Games where he finished eighth in the final in a race won by Jamaican world-record holder Usain Bolt.
Of yesterday’s failure, he said: “It was horrible, in training I felt good but race rhythm is a totally different monster, and I could not have known that until I raced,” Jobodwana said.
“Maybe I was too optimistic about this, and should have sat down and given it to somebody who’s got a chance to medal like Akani.
“I’m going to kick myself for this one because that opportunity comes along only every four years, although I was optimistic I could make the final again.”
Simbine went into the Games as the form sprinter over the 100m and the 200m, yet the selectors did not have the foresight to include him for the 200.
Although Jobodwana has not run in competition since the beginning of September 2015, he was still the fastest of the qualifiers for the half-lap sprint at the Games.
Jobodwana’s South African record of 19.87s, run in the final at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing last year, was by far the best time of the athletes that posted qualifying times – including Wayde van Niekerk, who did not want to be selected.
It was always going to be a gamble getting Jobodwana fully fit for the Games, but one that could easily have come off.
Inflammation of the pubic bone of the pelvis had sidelined Jobodwana for months this year as he underwent intense rehabilitation.
Simbine was the second fastest behind Jobodwana with the 20.29s he clocked in March in Pretoria, but instead of him the selectors included Leotlela based on his personal best qualifying time of 20.47s in Lusaka.
Simbine appealed his exclusion from the 200m, to no avail, as the selectors also argued Simbine did not prove his fitness by competing in the halflap sprint at the South African and African Championships.
After the team was announced, Simbine posted a new personal best time of 20.16sec in Hungary last month.
Jobodwana said although he was the fastest qualifier, Leotlela and Munyai ran throughout the season earning their places fair and square while he had not run a race this year.
He said he hoped to sit down and apologise to Simbine as he felt responsible for his exclusion from the 200m event.
“Akani was in a better position than maybe all three of us, and I believe he would have made a final at least,” Jobodwana said. “I’ve got to take responsibility for everything, I was feeling good, my rehabilitation was going well, my strength levels were up.