Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 124, November 2019 | Page 48

TRACK & FIELD
Did It Go
Wrong in
Doha?
Akani Simbine
The World Athletics Championships were held in Doha, Qatar, from
27 September to 6 October and South Africa fielded a 31-strong team.
In recent years, South Africa had punched above its weight, particularly
in 2017, when the team came home with six medals and finished third
on the medals table, but with no medals in Doha, was this a poor
performance by Team South Africa, or an accurate reflection of the state
of the sport? – BY MANFRED SEIDLER
Luvo Manyonga
O
n the face of it, a haul of three gold, one silver
and two bronze medals in 2017 was a good
return for a World Championship performance
by South Africa. In fact, many would argue it was a
superb return, and led to Athletics South Africa (ASA)
making statements such as “We want to be the best
in the world and be on top of the medal rankings.”
However, four of those six medals were brought home
by two athletes, Wayde van Niekerk winning gold in
the 400m and silver in the 200m, with Caster Semenya
claiming gold in the 800m and bronze in the 1500m.
The other two medals were gold and bronze in the
long jump by Luvo Manyonga and Ruswahl Samaai
respectively. (Akani Simbine finished fifth in the 100m
final and was close to adding another medal.)
That 2017 World Champs team was made up of 28
athletes competing in 18 events. Four of these were
straight finals, meaning no heats and semi-finals were
needed to get to a final. Only Wayde, Caster, Akani,
Luvo and Ruswahl made it through the rounds of their
respective events to get to finals. So was 2017 really
that good? The answer is no, South Africa definitely
punched above its weight category.
The story of 2019 made headlines of a different kind,
with South Africa not bringing home a single medal for
the first time since the 2007 World Champs in Osaka,
Japan, and ASA were not happy. “Like the rest of
the country, we are not happy we didn’t bring back
any medals, but we will look into all aspects of our
participation in this championship in order to move
forward,” said ASA President Aleck Skhosana.
UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS
But was it fair to simply expect any medals in 2019?
After all, neither Caster nor Wayde were there, so
could South Africa realistically bank on any medals?
“There were no athletes in the team where you just
knew that they would come home with a medal,” says
renowned coach Lindsey Parry, and Mathew Quinn,
member of the gold medal 4x100m relay team from the
2001 World Champs in Canada echoes that sentiment.
“We were looking to Akani, Luvo and Ruswahl to
Stephen Mokoka
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ISSUE 124 NOVEMBER 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za