Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 103, February 2018 | Page 26

TRACK & FIELD
Busy Year Ahead!
I
f you’re a track and field fan, there is so
much to look forward to in 2018, including
the Commonwealth Games, World Indoor
Championships, World Junior Championships,
African Championships, SA Senior and Junior
Championships, the recently announced Athletix
Grand Prix Series, and of course the Diamond League
Season, which stretches from May to end August. It
looks set to be an exciting season, all the more so
because there is a renewed appetite for the sport
amongst fans thanks to the incredible performances
of our athletes on the world stage in recent years,
as evidenced by the #FillUpPotch Campaign driven
by the athletes on social media ahead of the 2017
National Senior Championships. Already some of the
athletes are calling to #FillUpPretoria, the venue for
the 2018 Senior Championships.
Traditionally, the track and field season culminates
with a global event in the second half of the year, be
it an Olympics or a World Championships, but the
2018 season will be very different due to the fact that
the 2018 Commonwealth Games will be taking place
Anaso Jobodwane
26
Sunette Viljoen
on the Gold Coast in Australia this year, and as with
South Africa, the summer sports take place in the first
four months of the year. The athletics component of
the Games take place from 8 to 15 April, and Team
South Africa will once again be looking to track and
field to pick up the bulk of its medals.
That said, even with the stars that Team South Africa
has at its disposal now, it will be a challenge to equal
the 14 medals from 2006 or nine from 2014. Still,
medals are expected to come from the likes of Akani
Simbine and Anaso Jobodwane (sprints), Luvo
Manyonga and Ruswahl Samaai (long jump), Caster
Semenya (800m – it is not yet clear if she will be
competing in the 1500m as well), and Sunette Viljoen
in the javelin. Those are considered “banked medals”
by many, and one would hope that a men’s 4x100m
relay team will be included in the squad, as many
believe this is another virtually guaranteed medal.
Another athlete with high expectations will be the
evergreen LJ van Zyl, who will be chasing yet another
accolade in the 400m hurdles in what is probably his
final Commonwealth Games.
ISSUE 103 FEBRUARY 2018 / www.modernathlete.co.za
ON THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE
The first big event for SA athletics in 2018 will be the
World Indoor Championships in Birmingham from 2-4
March. This could be quite a successful outing for
Team South Africa, with the provisional team listing
such superstars as Luvo (he has to be the favourite
to win) and Ruswahl (5 th at the 2016 World Indoors),
as well as Dominique Scott (1500m/3000m), Carina
Horn (60m), Henricho Bruintjies, Emile Erasmus
(both 60m sprints), Zarck Visser (long jump) and
Orazio Cremona (shot put).
Should these athletes make the final team, they could
potentially have a very busy March. The 1 st sees the
first of three Athletix Grand Prix Meets in Roodeport,
with the second meet in Pretoria at Tuks (8 March)
with the final on 22 March in Paarl at the renovated
Dal Josefat Stadium, and nestled in between the
second and third GP Meets are the Senior National
Carina Horn
The 2018 Track and Field Season is going to be a busy one for South African
athletes, and one in which there is plenty of opportunity for both established
athletes to further their reputations and for those who have not yet quite hit
“the big time” to do so. – BY MANFRED SEIDLER