Sanders eyeing a medal Down Under
Wesley Bo on
– While her male compatriots are likely to steal the headlines in the buildup, triathlete Gillian Sanders hopes to deliver a standout performance by returning to the podium at the Commonwealth Games in April.
The UK-based Sanders formed part of the SA squad that earned the silver medal in the mixed team race at the previous edition of the Commonwealths in Glasgow four years ago.
Though they again boasted the services of Olympic medallist Henri Schoeman and local star Richard Murray ahead of this season’s Gold Coast showpiece, the national team will be without the likes of Kate Roberts and Mari Rabie, who have retired in recent years.
They would nonetheless be boosted by SA-born Simone Ackermann, who switched allegiance from adoptive nation New Zealand after she was omitted from the Australasian nation’s Olympic team ahead of the 2016 Rio Games, and Sanders believed they could bag another medal at the event Down Under.
The 36-year-old Sanders, who finished 13th in the women’s race at the Glasgow Games, also felt she had a chance for an individual medal.
“For anyone going to a major Games, you’re obviously there on merit and the No 1 goal is clearly to try and bring back a medal,” she said yesterday ahead of the Discovery World Cup race in Cape Town this weekend.
“In the team event, I think there’s more of a target on our backs this time, but that’s fine.”
After giving last year’s Cape Town race a miss, the African champion was eager to turn out this week, in preparation for the Gold Coast spectacle.
“It’s really early in the season for us because we usually only get going around March or April,” Sanders told The Citizen yesterday.
“So it’s been a bit of a different winter for us, trying to get prepared quickly, but the Commonwealth Games is the No 1 priority for me this season.”
Cape Town