London medals not true depth of SA athletics

ASA must beef up across all disciplines

On the surface of it, the IAAF World Championships final medals table reflects a glossy picture of Team SA in London.

Six medals and position three is a good return, more so if we take into account that the tally matches that of hosts Great Britain who, by virtue of one less gold than South Africa, ranked three places below.

As much as team performances are measured by medals, SA’s heroics in London are still not a true reflection of domestic athletics.

That two athletes from a team of 26 – Caster Semenya and Wayde van Niekerk – brought home four medals between them shows how pretty thin the team was across disciplines.

It’s unfair to constantly depend on the same individuals for medals, when the country has a deep well of talent on track and field.

The message is simple: Athletics SA (ASA) must get the succession programme in place.

Reality is, what would happen should we find ourselves going to a championship without Semenya or Van Niekerk?

Already, there was a sense of disappointment when multiple major championships medallist Sunette Viljoen pulled out of the team prior to departure.

Then again, is Viljoen the only capable javelin thrower in a country of 50 million? It can’t be right.

So far, South Africa’s capacity in the men’s long jump and the sprints cannot be contested but the same can’t be said about middle and long distance, which was once the country’s backbone in international competition.

ASA should not look far in their search for new blood as the rough diamonds have already emerged at last month’s IAAF World U18 Championships in Kenya – Tshenolo Lemao and Retshidisitswe Mlenga – both 17 – are the country’s only other sprinters who are world champions other than Van Niekerk.

Someone should monitor their progress and offer them opportunities to compete at the highest level, especially on the development stages such as the Commonwealth Games.

That’s where the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee is also required to unlock opportunities, for they would be the next in charge to deliver a team for the Commonwealths in Gold Coast, Australia next year.