Olympic medallist Caster Semenya (Gallo Images)
Roger Sedres/Gallo Images
- A star-studded list of South Africa’s best athletes are in Cape Town for the three-day ASA Senior Track and Field Championships.
- Akani Simbine, Wayde van Niekerk, Wenda Nel, Elroy Gelant, Dominique Scott-Efurd and Caster Semenya are some of the athletes competing at Green Point Stadium.
- All athletes will be hoping to secure a qualification for this year’s Commonwealth Games, scheduled from 28 July to 8 August.
Green Point Stadium is the place to be from Thursday as South Africa’s biggest stars will descend in Cape Town for the three-day ASA Track and Field Senior Championships.
The 100m showdown sees SA record holder Akani Simbine, representing the Central Gauteng Athletics (CGA), take on Clarence Munyai of Athletics Gauteng North (AGN), sub-10 athletes Gift Leotlela and Henricho Bruintjies, Emile Erasmus and rising prospect Benjamin Richardson.
National record holder, Carina Horn looks to carry her dominance in the women’s 100m event but will have to be at her best to beat the country’s latest sprint sensation, 17-year-old Viwe Jingqi.
Jingqi, who recently broke the national junior 100m record (11.22 seconds) at the ASA U20 Championships in Potchefstroom, will aim to upstage Horn, the country’s only sub-11 sprinter.
2016 Rio Olympic medallist Wayde van Niekerk, returns from his base in the United States to represent Boland Athletics (BOLA) in the men’s 400m.
In the women’s 5 000m event, three-time 800m world champion Caster Semenya will be among the favourites in the long-distance race.
Semenya will compete against training partner and AGN team-mate Glenrose Xaba, Olympian Dominique Scott-Efurd for Western Province Athletics (WPA) and SA cross country champion Kesa Molotsane, who carries the hopes of the Athletics Free State (AFS) squad.
A tussle is also expected in the men’s 5 000m event with the field including Precious Mashele (CGA), SA cross country champion Mbuleli Mathanga (KZNA) and Athletics Central North West (ACNW) athlete and national record holder Elroy Gelant.
In the 400m hurdles, newcomer Taylon Bieldt will face former world junior champion Zeney van der Walt and Olympian Wenda Nel, who is in search of her 10th national 400m hurdles title.
In other events, in-form athlete Jovan van Vuuren (AGN) will face African champion Ruswahl Samaai (BOLA) and lightning-fast Cheswill Johnson (CGA) in the men’s long jump.
“The national track and field season has been building up to this and we indeed expect it to be a cracker of a Championship,” said James Moloi, the President of Athletics South Africa.
“Our athletes have shown during the ASA Athletics Grand Prix Series, the various Provincial Championships, ASA 35km Race Walking Championships and Inter-provincial Race Walking Challenge, and the Youth & Junior Champs, that this is going to be an exciting track & field season. And indeed it is.
“The three days of competition is likely to see a few upsets from younger athletes from the youth and junior category who have thrown the gauntlet at the senior athletes that they want their titles. In particular, I think we are going to see an emergence of young female athletes at senior level with great performances.
“Of course, we hope that the weather in Cape Town behaves well so that we can achieve some good performances that will give our athletes the confidence they need before they go into the international stage.”
All three days of competition at the ASA Senior Championships will be broadcast live on SuperSport (Variety 4).