SA athletes nominated for international awards

Sport and Recreation Minister Fikile Mbalula has congratulated Olympic gold medallists Caster Semenya and Wayde van Niekerk on their nominations for the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) World Athlete of the Year Awards.

“Our athletes continue to make the country proud, uniting us behind our common vision of a winning nation.

At the Rio Olympics held recently in Brazil, Van Niekerk clinched gold for the country when he made world history by breaking the 17-year-old record set by Michael John- son’s mark of 43.18 in the men’s 400m. Van Niekerk won the gold medal and set a world record of 43:03 seconds.

South Africa’s golden girl, Caster Mokgadi Semenya, won the 800m gold medal at 1 minute 55.28 seconds, making this the 25th gold won by South Africa in the country’s Olympic history.