SPORT MAN
SAYS sport man says by MANFRED SEIDLER
Middle Distance Miss
Qualifying for the World Championships in the middle distances has never been harder for South African athletes .
World Athletics ( WA ) has set stringent qualifying standards for the middle-distance events at the 2023 World Athletics Championships , in Budapest , Hungary from 19 to 27 August :
Distance Men Women
800m 1:44.70 1:59.80 1500m 3:34.20 4:03.50 5000m 13:07.00 14:57.00 10,000m 27:10.00 30:40.00 3,000m SC 8:15.00 9:23.00
The qualification period for the 10,000m is from 31 January 2022 to 30 July 2023 , whereas for the other events , the shorter qualification period is from 31 July 2022 to 30 July , 2023 . The problem is that these are very high targets . The women ’ s 5000m qualifier is a mere 13 seconds slower than the SA record , while the men ’ s 10,000m qualifying time would require a new SA Record by 19 seconds , and by 12 seconds for the women ’ s 10,000m !
SA Prospects
I expect both Tshepo Tshite ( PB 1:44.59 ) and Prudence Sekgodiso ( 1:58.41 ) to qualify in the 800m . They both train under Samuel Sepeng , and he will have his athletes looking to qualify in June , and as such they will likely not race much in SA in the early part of 2023 . But from there it is becomes a rather different affair .
In the men ’ s 1500m , only Ryan Mphahlele was able to get to the 2022 World Championships qualifying standard with his 3:34.66 – and he will
Events like the Under Armour All Out Mile in Cape Town could be vitally important in 2023 need to improve still further on that if he wants an automatic qualifier for 2023 . Interesting will be to see how Maxime Chaumeton fares . He has the World Championships in sight for both the 1500m and 5000m , but needs considerable improvements on his bests of 3:43.50 and 13:42.56 respectively .
Carina Viljoen ’ s 4:08.36 is the best women ’ s 1500m time for 2022 , while Dominique Scott-Efurd ’ s 15:07.50 for 5000m is still 10 seconds off the mark . Adriaan Wildschutt needs to chop 21 seconds off his best 5000m , and 28 seconds off his 10,000m time , if he is to have any hopes of making the team , and Scott-Efurd ’ s 31:00.10 is still 20 seconds off the mark in the women ’ s 10,000m . And there is clear daylight between these athletes and the next athletes on the SA ranking lists .
The Problem
To date , no South African has qualified for any middledistance event under these criteria for 2023 , and their task has not been made any easier by Athletics South Africa ( ASA ). A glance at the 2023 ASA fixture list – admittedly , still provisional – shows that all the major meets will be held inland , meaning at altitude , where middle distance times tend to be slower :
• 30 March – 1 April : National Championships , Potchefstroom ( 1340m altitude )
• 12 April : ASA Grand Prix # 1 , Pretoria ( 1339m altitude ),
• 19 April : ASA Grand Prix # 2 , Germiston ( 1620m altitude )
• 26 April : ASA Grand Prix # 3 , Potchefstroom ( 1340m altitude )
I understand that the cost factor is an issue : ASA pays for athletes to attend its Grand Prix events , and with around 80 % of them being based up-country , it does become a hugely costly affair , but as custodians of the sport , it is the responsibility of the national federation to give our athletes the opportunity to qualify .
Another problem is that the stricter qualifying times will make filling the quota per event at the World
Endurocad ’ s middledistance meets in Stellenbosch could help SA athletes get to Budapest
Championships difficult , which means WA will likely rely on WA Label Ranking points to fill the lanes . Now rumour has it that Endurocad and the Cape Milers Club will once again present a series of middle distance meets in the Cape early next year , but these events do not carry WA Label Status , so Label Ranking points will not be on offer , meaning that out-and-out qualifying times will need to be run . That will be a tall ask , even with pacesetters and provided the weather plays along .
Limited Qualifiers Likely
Taking all factors into account , I foresee that we will once again have a very small middle-distance contingent in Budapest , and if I were to put money on a likely line-up for Team SA , it would be :
• Tshepo Tshite ( men ’ s 800m )
• Prudence Sekgodiso ( women ’ s 800m )
• Ryan Mphahlele ( men ’ s 1500m )
• Maxime Chaumeton ( men ’ s 5000m )
• Dominique Scott-Efurd ( women ’ s 10,000m ).
Sadly , this all means that middle-distance running in South Africa is even more on the back foot than before , which could cause still more athletes to leave the track permanently for the roads . And it is incredibly sad to see that the situation is not being aided by the stance taken by ASA . One can only hope that the likes of Edurocad and the Cape Milers Club are able to secure bigger sponsorships , with which to attract international stars , and then hopefully secure World Athletics Status and Ranking Points .
About the Author
Manfred Seidler is a freelance sport journalist who has been in the industry since 1994 , in both print media and broadcasting , covering four Olympic Games for SABC Radio , and producing various athletics shows for the SABC . Follow him on Twitter : @ sportmansa ; Facebook : Sport Man SA ; Instagram : sportman _ sa .
Images : David Papenfus / Endurocad & courtesy Under Armour
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