Defending titles is one challenge. Doing it against your world-champion neighbours on their home track is another altogether.
That’ s the task facing Team South Africa at the World Athletics Relays in Gaborone from 2-3 May, where the defending champions arrive with titles to protect, qualification places to secure and a regional rivalry to renew.
The men’ s 4x400m, in particular, promises one of the meeting’ s headline contests, with South Africa and hosts Botswana reigniting a rivalry that has helped elevate African one-lap running onto the world stage.
For South Africa, it is a challenge they are embracing.
“ I ' m super excited to be back with baton in hand, and to be back with the boys again. We’ re definitely going out there to defend,” said Zakithi Nene, who ran the anchor leg, both when SA won the World Relays title in Guangzhou, China, and then at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, where they picked up the bronze behind Botswana and the USA.
“ I think we ' re just going to battle it out with our neighbouring rivals and put on a show for the world,” added the KZN sprinter who ran a 44.50-second 400m in Nairobi recently after the start of his season was slightly delayed by an Achilles niggle.
He ran a 400m personal best of 43.76 seconds last season.
The eighth edition of the World Relays carries extra intrigue because there is more at stake than medals.
Gaborone doubles as the main qualification event for September’ s World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest and next year’ s World Athletics Championships in Beijing.
South Africa return to the World Relays not only as defending champions in the men’ s 4x400m but also the men’ s 4x100m, while the women’ s 4x400m team arrive with momentum after their bronze medal at the last event. The challenge now is backing that up.
Team SA were dealt a recent blow with 400m world record-holder Wayde van Niekerk forced to withdraw from the team through injury, robbing the men’ s 4x400m squad of one of its most experienced figures. Yet if anything, his absence sharpens the test of South Africa’ s much-vaunted depth.
For Nene, Botswana almost feels like a home championship, but the bigger motivation is proving South Africa’ s rise in the 4x400 is built to last.
“ The 4x400 is in a really good space in this country. We have a whole lot of juniors and new athletes coming up the ranks. So we are spoiled for choice in terms of the depth that we have,” he explained of the likes of 18-yearold Leendert Koekemoer and 20-year-old Udeme Okon.
“ I think being able to win medals at two championships last year, that is a real confidence booster. It just goes to show that the win we had at World Relays wasn ' t a fluke and we backed it up with that bronze medal at World Champs.
“ I think we’ re now establishing ourselves as a 400m nation, as a 4x400 relay nation … And with the buy-in of every single athlete, I ' m really happy with where we’ re at, and knowing very well that we’ re aligned with what we ' re trying to achieve.”
Part of that alignment comes from constant contact with each other via their WhatsApp group, which is called Anchor.
“ I think apart from obviously being competitors, we are good friends. So we check in on each other from time to time, someone popping in with a meme or two.
“ I think Wayde created the group … he just wanted to create that safe space for us to be able to confide in one another, knowing very well that we have each other &# 39; s backs and still remind ourselves that as much as we still have to compete against one another, we ' re still good.”
Lythe Pillay says the squad’ s chemistry remains one of its greatest strengths.
“ On race day, whenever we’ re competing individually, we’ re very quiet and reserved because we’ re focusing to do our own thing, but the moment we come in this group, it just becomes a whole, crazy brotherhood again, so it’ s nice,” he said.
Van Niekerk’ s withdrawal changes the makeup of the quartet, but not the ambition.
“ We’ re keen and hungry and I think we’ re motivated more now than ever actually. We’ re ready to show
Botswana … we’ re coming for their medal this year,” added Pillay.
Meanwhile, the men’ s 4x100m relay team heads to Botswana without the services of the injured Bayanda Walaza but with ambitions that go beyond defending their title.
Akani Simbine, who recently hosted South Africa’ s first silver-level World Athletics Continental Tour event in Pretoria – the Simbine Classic – sees the event as another milestone for athletics on the continent.
“ World Relays in Botswana – actually being hosted in the southern part of Africa is very important … we’ re attracting international athletes to come down to the south,” said Simbine.
“ It’ s another big thing where the southern tip of Africa is being advertised to the world. And it just shows the possibilities of what we can do here,” added the three-time Olympic 100m finalist, who anchored the SA quartet, not only to World Relays gold in 2025 but also Olympic silver in Paris the year before.
Defending their title seems increasingly unlikely without the likes of Walaza, Shaun Maswanganyi and now also Sinesipho Dambile who will not be part of the team. Dambile recently blazed to victory in the 200m at the Kip Keino Classic in Kenya in 19.77 – the second fastest time ever run by a South African but is not travelling to Gaborone.
South Africa’ s 4x400m women’ s squad travel to Botswana’ s capital with their own measure of momentum and belief. But they were also dealt a massive blow with the withdrawal of injured anchor-leg runner
Zeney Geldenhuys as well as Miranda Coetzee.
All the action gets underway at the National Stadium in Gaborone with the qualifying rounds starting at 2.05pm on 1 May.
Go to full timetable
https:// worldathletics. org / competitions / worldathletics-relays / gaborone26 / timetable
SA team: Women
• 4x100m: Rume Burger, Viwe Jingqi, Gabriella Marais, Joviale Mbisha, Kayla la Grange
• 4x400m: Tumi Ramokgopa, Marlie Viljoen, Christi Loggenberg, Hannah van Niekerk, Jada van Staden, Isabella Gunter
Men
• 4x100m: Cheswill Johnson, Retshidisitswe Mlenga, Bradley Nkoana, Akani Simbine, Tsebo Matsoso, Mvuyo Moss
• 4x400m: Zakithi Nene, Lythe Pillay, Udeme Okon, Gardeo Isaacs, Leendert Koekemoer, Bradley Maponyane
Mixed
• 4x400m mixed: Mia de Beer, Rogail Joseph, Precious Molepo, Mthi Mthimkhulu, Daniel Briel, Antonie Nortje
1 st $ 40,000 5 th $ 6000 2 nd $ 20,000 6 th $ 4000 3 rd $ 10,000 7 th $ 3000 4 th $ 8000 8 th $ 2000
www. modernathlete. co. za 7