With no World Championships or Olympic Games this year, the national senior athletics championships will be a little more watered down than usual, but some thrilling races are still on the cards when the action gets underway at Coetzenburg Stadium in Stellenbosch on Thursday.
In the blue riband men’s 100m sprint, SA record holder Akani Simbine will not line up for the second year in a row.
Last season, the three-time Olympic finalist was tied up on the international circuit, and this year he is making a late start to his campaign in order to focus on the Diamond League series, taking his foot off the pedal a bit as he gears up for big seasons in 2027 and 2028.
And the country’s most promising young sprinter, Bayanda Walaza, will also be missing from the short dash while he recovers from a persistent hamstring injury that derailed his plans for a maiden campaign on the global indoor circuit earlier this year.
Title contenders
Nonetheless, the men’s 100m sprint features a long list of athletes who will be eager to come out on top, spearheaded by World Championships finalist Gift Leotlela who will turn out in defence of the national title he won last year.
Other athletes to watch include Benjamin Richardson, who has switched allegiance to Ireland but remains available for the Athletics Central North West provincial team while he awaits clearance to compete for his nation of birth, as well as his training partner Bradley Nkoana.
The most interesting entrant in the battle for the 100m title, however, will be 400m world record holder Wayde van Niekerk, who confirmed last year he would be stepping down in distance this season after running the fastest leg of the 4x400m relay final at last year’s World Championships. Van Niekerk, perhaps the most versatile sprinter of all time, also goes in the 200m event in Stellenbosch.
Other events
In other events, a tight battle is expected between the likes of former world junior champions Lythe Pillay and Udeme Okon, as well as teenage prospect Leendert Koekemoer, in the men’s 400m dash.
Zakithi Nene, the third fastest man in the world last year over one lap, will not turn out in Stellenbosch. Like Simbine, he will concentrate on the international circuit this season.
Other athletes to watch at the three-day national championships, which conclude on Saturday, include the likes of former world indoor 800m champion Prudence Sekgodiso, Olympic javelin throw silver medallist Jo-Ane du Plessis, and national record holders Marione Fourie (100m hurdles) and Tshepo Tshite (1 500m).
