TRACK & FIELD
Medal Mission Intensifies
South Africa ’ s 4x100m relay athletes are one team with one goal . That became abundantly clear during their first training camp , beginning their preparation for the World Relay Championships in Poland at the beginning of May .
At the end of February , the Tuks track in Pretoria was full of speeding sprinters practising changeovers and racing combinations as the South African 4x100m relay training squad were put through their paces by national relay coach Paul Gorries . The squad , consisting of Akani Simbine , Clarence Munyai , Simon Magakwe , Henricho Bruintjies , Sinesipho Dambile , Thando Dlodlo and Chederick van Wyk are building up to both the World Relay Champs in May and the Tokyo Olympic Games later this year – COVID pandemic-allowing , of course .
Coaches Paul Gorries and Lindsey Parry
All the athletes in the squad agree that winning a medal in Poland on 1-2 May is non-negotiable . It simply must happen , because they feel they owe it to the South African fans , and themselves . The same goes for when they compete at the Olympics , and the statistics prove their confidence is justified . During the 2019 World Championships in Doha , they set a new South African record of 37.65 seconds in the heats , one of the four fastest times of the year in the world . In fact , since 2016 , that time would consistently have put the team on the podium in most major meets .
What made Doha ’ s performance special is that the South Africans hardly got to train as a team ahead of the World Champs , due to the athletes having different competition and travel schedules . However , things are different now , because national coach Paul is a firm believer that practice makes perfect – and the athletes would have it no other way . “ I think the more training camps , the better . It is helping us to develop a team culture ,” says Akani , who last year was the world ’ s third-fastest sprinter over 100 metres .
Spirits are high in the SA camp ahead of the big meets
Everyone in the squad agrees that the team needs to improve by at least 0.50 seconds before May in order to challenge for a medal , and according to Akani , several things must be addressed to make them faster . “ We need to work on every facet of running a fast relay during training . The goal should be to do everything 100 % correct every moment , so that when we get to race , there are no mistakes .”
Heritage to Build On
South African relay teams have already tasted international success , with the 4x100m team finishing tin the silver medal position at the 2001 World Champs in Canada , then later being promoted to the gold medal position following the disqualification of the winning USA team a few years later when one of its members was exposed as a drug cheat . More
Akani Simbine and Clarence Munyai
recently , the 4x100m team won the silver medal at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in Australia , and the 4x200m team won silver at the 2019 World Relay Championships in Yokohama , Japan .
One of the members of the 2018 team in Australia , Henricho , says Team SA is working towards another medal in 2021 . “ We can be the best in the world , but the secret is never to allow ourselves to be caught up in the hype of everything . We should stay focussed on the task at hand . In the end , everything is going to boil down to total trust in each other and smooth handovers ,” he says .
Sinesipho , who was part of the 2019 team that podiumed in Japan , echoes his teammate ’ s sentiments . “ I honestly believe that we can medal again , as we have got some of the fastest athletes , but we need to train together . The more we do so , the better .” Similarly , Clarence says that competing in a World Championships final is all about no margin for error . “ It only takes one small mistake to lose out on a medal chance . Having a good relay team is not only about speed . To me , it is about teamwork .”
Team Selection Not Final
According to Paul , the emphasis of the training camp was to ensure that everyone was on the same page . “ We spoke about what we want to achieve and how we are going to go about it . On the track , the aim was getting the athletes used to pass the baton around .” While seven athletes took part in the training camp , Paul stresses that the final team of six for the World Relay Championships is far from finalised . “ I consider every athlete who runs a fast time to be in contention , and both Anaso Jobodwana and Phatutshedzo Maswanganyi will join the squad as soon as the international travel regulations allow for it .” Both are based in the United States .
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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