Samaai aiming to turn up the heat

HE hasn’t participated in serious competition this year but Ruswahl Samaai is confident he can put “pressure” on the young long jump upstarts at the South African track and field championships in Pretoria this week.

The 29-year-old from Paarl, who clinched bronze medals at the 2017 world championships and at two Commonwealth Games, has been working hard on his technique and speed in recent months without participating in any events.

Instead, leading the way locally is 23-year-old Cheswill Johnson, who posted an Olympic qualifying distance of 8.26 metres in Pretoria in February, which also placed him second on the 2021 world list behind Jamaica’s Tajay Gayle (8.27m), although it is still early in the season.

Two other local athletes have also gone through the eight-metre barrier this year: Divan Manuel (8.02m) and Jovan van Vuuren (8.01m).

But while the trio may be setting the pace, they haven’t had to face Samaai yet …

“I am sure that they will perform well, as they are already in good form, have participated in meetings and are well prepared.

“I am looking forward to seeing what they can do with me in the field, and where I can place them under pressure from jump one,” the Boland athlete told Independent Media yesterday.

“There are three youngsters who are doing very well, and it’s a great boost for long jumping for the future, going forward.”

Samaai says he is fully fit, and opted not to take part in any competition, as “there wasn’t a reason to participate up to now”.

“Many of the competitions were scheduled on top of each other, and I wasn’t well prepared for that. I didn’t just want to jump in any competition, just to say I took part.”

But while he will still be the favourite when the long jump event starts tomorrow at the Tuks Stadium – with the final scheduled for Saturday – Samaai will have bigger fish to fry on the international circuit, where he will aim to get into peak form ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.