Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 126, January 2020 | Page 26

International stars have lifted the racing standards in
Label races such as the FNB Cape Town 12 ONERUN
As mentioned earlier, we have some serious
challenges in track and field. We are not a sprinting
nation, even though we thought that for the last few
years, but only Akani has been consistent. Luvo and
Ruswahl have been consistent in the long jump, the
4x100m relay squad should have us really excited,
and there are some really promising youngsters
coming through, but what else?
With the World Under-20 Championships once again
taking place in Kenya from 7-12 July, one hopes that
SA’s recent trend of medal-winning performances
at that level will continue. Our youngsters have their
national championships at the end of March in Paarl,
and there is a possibility that there will be an African
Youth and Junior Championships in April. If there
is, I hope ASA is not too stringent on qualification
standards and sends the biggest possible team,
because these are the championships where you want
athletes to get exposed to travel and international
competition, which should groom them for the next
level, the World Championships.
For the seniors, it will be an interesting year. The
Olympics are pretty much the highlight of the year,
which means the South African athletes’ season
could be shorter than usual, and hopefully those
who do qualify are not completely exhausted by the
time they get to Tokyo. Usually, the previous season
will effectively finish at the end of August, or even in
September, and then start again in South Africa in
February, with league meetings, followed by provincial
championships in March. That makes it a really long
season for South Africans.
Some Good News
In 2018 we had the Liquid Telecom Grand Prix meets,
and it was awesome to see international athletes
taking part, full stadiums and a real vibe around the
track again. It is this kind of experience that we really
need in order to get people excited about the sport.
Both in terms of competing and coming to watch.
Sadly, Liquid Telecom pulled out of the sport after
that first series, in spite of having signed a three-year
sponsorship deal, but just imagine what 2019 could
have been like if they had built on the great start made
in 2018... and what we would have been looking
forward to this year!
But the good news is that a new sponsor has signed
on and there will be a Grand Prix Series again in 2020.
This will entail three meetings in April – Cape Town
(9 April), Pilditch, Pretoria (14) and Potchefstroom (16).
That will be followed by the SA Senior Championships
at the end of April, also at Pilditch. I never quite
understand why a national championship is held at
altitude, because ideally you want it at sea level, but
that is a topic for another day.
What the new series does, though, is provide our best
athletes with quality competition against International
Athletes, on home soil. If you recall the heydays of
the Engen Grand Prix Summer Series, in particular
the period from 1995 to 2000, South Africa had great
depth in the 400m, 400m hurdles, 800m, 1500m,
5000m and 10 000m events, and some really good
field athletes. (This was mainly on the men’s side,
because women’s athletics has been a problem now
since the mid-90’s, but that is also a topic for another
day.) And it was those Engen meetings that provided a
massive impetus to South African athletics. Hopefully
the new Grand Prix Series will start to show the
same results, but let’s be honest, it will not happen
overnight, it will take time. But it is needed if we are to
rebuild our depth in track and field.
Of course, after April there is the international
circuit to aim for, and while the likes of Akani, Luvo
and Ruswahl have proven their worth on the world
stage and thus do not need to compete in SA any
more to be invited to the Diamond Leagues and the
World Athletics Challenge meets, for many others,
these Grand Prix Series meets will provide that
opportunity to perform and hopefully earn those
invites. So all in all, 2020 is not only about the
Olympics. There is so much more to look forward
to, and I really cannot wait.
Liquid Telecom meets
brought more stars to SA
Young stars like
Zeney van der
Walt can step up
in 2020
Scintillating racing in the 2019
Spar Women’s Challenge series
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Manfred Seidler is a freelance Olympic 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.
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ISSUE 126 JANUARY 2020 / www.modernathlete.co.za
Track and Field’s Challenge