Sprint relay team could be SA’s juggernaut

It took a while for everyone to buy into the idea, and there is still some coordination needed between members of a large squad who have different coaches and managers, but it seems the country’s top sprinters have realised there is a medal up for grabs at the Olympic Games if they can gel together as a team.

While the situation might change over the next couple of years, with the 2019 season expected to lay the marker in most disciplines ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Games, potential SA medals in sprint events are limited.

And while most athletes will be chasing minor places in the sport’s flagship 100m event, the country’s fastest men have a real chance of stepping on the podium if they can band together as a re- lay team.

“I feel like the more the guys believe in each other, the better they become,” former SA 100m record holder Henricho Bruintjies said after their most recent performance at the African Championships.

“It’s an individual game, but as soon as we can shift our minds and come together as a team, there are more medals up for grabs.

“I think the guys are understanding that much better now and showing up for the relays.”

As individuals, the SA men’s sprint squad consists of formidable 100m athletes. Bruintjies earned silver at this year’s Commonwealth Games, Magakwe capped his impressive comeback with a bronze medal at the African Championships and Emile

Wesley Bo on

Erasmus has been in superb form on the European circuit this season. But Simbine is the only South African competing at the moment who has displayed the potential to step on the podium in the 100m final at the Tokyo Games.

Anchored by the national record holder, however, the relay squad has the quality and depth to outclass powerhouse sprint nations such as Jamaica and the United States.

After struggling to gel as a unit for a few years, with limited opportunities available and no real drive to get the athletes working together, the squad is starting to look slick, with smoother transitions making them a potent force against any opposition.

At the Commonwealth Games in April they broke the SA record, clocking 38.24 for the silver medal, and despite facing poor conditions on a wobbly track, they won gold in 38.25 at the African Championships earlier this month.

With 200m runners Ncincilili Titi, Luxolo Adams and Anaso Jobodwana offering additional depth, and a handful of injured athletes set for potentially explosive returns to the track, including Wayde van Niekerk, Clarence Munyai, Thando Roto and Gift Leotlela, the national team could soon be the best in the world. They certainly have the potential.

Practice will ultimately make them as close to perfect as they can be, but they’ve already got the key ingredient for a quality relay outfit. They all run super fast.

A few years ago the South African relay squad was thrown together as a patch-up job ahead of major championships.

But with key stakeholders driving the team forward, and coaches and managers working together to strengthen the unit by creating opportunities for them to race together, they could ultimately prove to be an unstoppable juggernaut, which can only be good for everyone involved.

After all, a relay medal is a whole lot better than no medal at all.