“ We are planning to have quite a few national relay camps in the build-up to the World Relay Championships , and having most of the 4x100m relay athletes based at Tuks makes it easier to organise training camps . One of the things I discussed with the national coach , Paul Gorries , is that we should experiment changing the athletes ’ running order . Personally , I would like to see what the team is capable of when Clarence Munyai starts with Akani Simbine running the back straight . I think they could put us in the lead . It will put every other team under pressure . We all know that is when mistakes are made , and the Americans might even get rattled ,” Says Danie .

“ Maybe Thando Dlodlo should run the bend , and if there are no mistakes , it won ’ t matter who runs the final leg . It could be Simon Magakwe , Luxolo Adams or another of our sprinters . At the moment we are actually spoilt for choice , as there are so many young talented sprinters . The plan is to give everyone a chance to stake a claim for a place in the team . Another thing we shall have to work on is to get every athlete to realise that to run a good relay means being utterly focused for the whole race . It only takes one split second of lapsed concentration , or one mistake , to lose a race . But I know on a good day , with no errors , there will be no limits , and the South African team could even get close to dipping under 37 seconds .”

As things stand , Danie expects that South Africa might only enter four teams for the World Relays : Men ’ s 4x100m , 4x200m , 4x400m and a mixed relay team . The Champs will be held on 1-2 May in Chorzow , Poland . “ As far as women ’ s teams are concerned , I would like our focus to be on the juniors . With both our top female sprinters , Carina Horn and Tebogo Mamatu , suspended for possible doping infringements , there is no chance of qualifying a senior team in the 4x100m relay . We also don ’ t have a lot of depth in the 4x400m . Therefore , the women ’ s team selected to compete in the 4x100m relay at the World Junior Champs should form the core for the team that could go on to compete at the Paris Olympic Games . The aim should be to get the team to be good enough to medal at the 2028 Games .”

Emile Erasmus could be described as the South African sprinter who got lost in action , but it will be a mistake to forget about the ‘ Big Man ’ from Tuks .

Emile Erasmus

That means 21 months have elapsed since his last outing on the track … and thus many may have forgotten that in 2018 he could lay claim to being South Africa ’ s second-fastest sprinter over 100 metres , having clocked a best of 10.01 . If he had improved by a mere 0.02 seconds , he would have made athletics history , becoming just the second white sprinter in the world to dip under 10 seconds .

However , it was not meant to be , as the Tuks athlete picked up an injury , and that has unfortunately been the story of his sprinting career . Every time Emile seemed to be on the verge of a breakthrough , he tended to suffer another setback , which forced him to postpone his goals . However , he never allowed himself to become despondent , and in spite of the setbacks , he is still motivated by the same goal he set himself as a youngster the first time he settled in the starting blocks , to run the perfect race . Emile has promised himself not to quit until he achieves that , and now , Covid Pandemic-allowing , 2021 could be the year in which he resumes his battle with the stopwatch in earnest , and hopes to make history .

While 2020 will always be remembered as the year in which a virus changed the world and the way we

approach life , in some small way it might have been a blessing in disguise for Emile . For once , he was under no pressure to be able to race . He had 12 months to prepare his body for the challenges that come with continuously pushing the boundaries , giving him time to work on those niggles that have tended to bring his career to an abrupt halt in the past .

“ When I am adequately conditioned , my times over the 100 metres improve ,” he says , and the statistics bear out his statement . Before his injury woes started , he was consistently improving his times . In 2015 his best time was 10.43 ; in 2016 he ran 10.21 , in 2017 his time came down to 10.08 , and in 2018 he ran that 10.01 .

The Tuks sprinter does not doubt that he can dip under ten seconds , but he says he does not want to obsess about it . “ I don ’ t believe in setting a specific time as my goal . Experience has taught me that when you get obsessed with time , it is guaranteed that you will end up running one of your slowest races , as you tend to tense up . Therefore , my focus is on executing each phase of the race to perfection . If I succeed , it will be a fast time .”

These articles were supplied by The Department of Sport ( TuksSport ) at the University of Pretoria . Tuks is home to some of the best sporting opportunities in the world , with more than 30 sport clubs . To find out more , go to www . up . ac . za / tukssport .

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