Upbeat Anaso ready to work his way to the top
Having kept a low profile since he bombed out of the Rio Olympics first round in August last year, SA star sprinter Anaso Jobodwana speaks to Daniel Mothowagae following a low-key return to the track with a 10.35sec win in a 100m race in Durban at the wee
WHERE are you based now since you left the US prior to the Rio Olympics; and why did you leave your training centre, Altis?
I’m in Durban now. I left Altis because the way they managed my [pelvic] injury was a bit weird to me. I was told they don’t believe in rehabilitation, and the weirdest part came when the coach told me my MRI [Magnetic Resonance Imaging] scans were clean (and that I can continue running); and when those same MRIs were sent to a doctor not affiliated with them, he told me if I continued running I would have a fractured bone and be out for six months. How would you remember 2016? Lots of learning. What are your targets for 2017? Just to have a healthy season and run fast. Athletics SA has committed to send a relay team to the IAAF World Relays in the Bahamas in April. How do you rate SA’s chances? South Africa can walk away with a medal in the 4x100m for sure. What are your plans for the SA Senior Championships in April? Are you going for the 200m again? The plan is to go out there and work my way into the top three and come out healthy. And yes, I am doing the 200m. And how are you building up for the World Champs in London in August? I haven’t qualified yet, so I haven’t thought that far. How do you see the future of the world’s sprints since Usain Bolt is bidding athletics goodbye this year? I think it’s gonna be great. There’s a lot of guys who want to be the heir to the throne and that alone will produce some exciting competition. What do you make of the SA sprints landscape? Can local sprinters run faster than the crazy sub-times that have been set already? It’s very healthy. I think the athletes have discovered their talents and also how far they can go and that positivity is filtering through to the new generation, so South Africa is definitely gonna see faster times.