EVEN though he is on the side-lines recovering from a knee injury, South Africa’s superstar athlete Wayde “The Dreamer” van Niekerk, is impressed with the strides the country is making in the sport.
The world 400m and Olympic record holder with a time of 43.03 seconds, praised Mzansi as a potential formidable force on the world stage.
All eyes will be on SA at the major junior and senior world championships in London and Finland next month.
The juniors will compete in the IAAF World Junior Championships in Tampere, Finland, from 10-14 July, while the seniors will fly SA’s flag at the inaugural World Cup at Queen Elizabeth’s Olympic Park in England from 13-15 July.
Van Niekerk, who will resume his track and field participation in early 2019, said athletics in the country seemed to be on the right track.
He was among several big name superstars to give the selected senior team his seal of approval.
Retired legend turned pundit Geraldine Pillay and Atlanta 1996 Olympic silver medallist Hezekiel Sepeng are also convinced that it’s a new dawn for Mzansi’s athletics.
Athletics SA has named a strong 40-member squad to take part in Britain.
Mzansi’s athletes will be returning to the scene of the country’s great triumph, the home of English Premiership outfit West Ham United, where they clinched three gold medals, one silver medal and two bronze medals at the IAAF world champs in 2017.
That was SA’s biggest medal haul at any world championships so far and the team will head to London high in confidence.
They also brought home 12 medals from the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, in April.
Said Van Niekerk: “We have great potential coming through. I’m glad that athletics is starting to make its mark.
“This is our lives, this is what we do. Hopefully the corporate world will invest in the sport.
He added: “This is Akani’s year, I’m excited to see what he does this year. He is one of the best. South Africans are starting to believe in our athletes and recognise it as a sport that unites the country.”
Star athletes such as world long jump champion Luvo Manyonga, 800m great Caster Semenya, javelin thrower Sunette Viljoen, sprint stars Akani Simbine, Clarence Munyai, Carina Horn and Simon Magakwe are some of the athletes who’ve made the cut.
Added Pillay: “These are interesting times for SA athletics, we are ticking all the right boxes.”
Sepeng said: “At times like these, I wish I was still running!”
