Jobodwana gears up to give Gatlin a run for his money in Pretoria

ANASO Jobodwana has a lot on his mind right now.

The athlete’s thoughts are divided between preparing for the imminent arrival of his child and also plotting a way past Olympic champion and reigning 100m world champion Justin Gatlin when they meet in a 150m race in the Liquid Telecom Athletix Grand Prix at the Tuks Stadium in Pretoria today.

While admitting to stress and excitement, Jobodwana insisted that his preparations for his showdown with the US athlete had not been affected.

He said his wife, Taylor, had gone into labour in a hospital in Phoenix‚ Arizona‚ but he was calm as she was with her family.

“I am in constant contact with them and I have been told that everything is going OK.”

Jobodwana‚ the former South African 200m record holder and 2015 World Championship 200m bronze medallist‚ will come face to face with Gatlin for the third time in his career today. “Usually with people like Justin [Gatlin] or Usain [Bolt]‚ you have to stay within yourself in the first 30m because they get out of the blocks quicker‚” he said.

“I am going to try to keep as close as possible for the first 30m, so that by the time I get to my running phase I can chip away.”

Gatlin and Jobodwana will be competing in the 150m event for the first time on a competitive level and they will have Trentavis Friday and former South African 100m record holder Simon Magakwe to contend with.

Gatlin, who said he had big respect for SA sprinters, expected a tough race against Jobodwana. – TimesLIVE