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2021 at the Olympic Games . We can expect that to be very different in 2022 . He joined Lance Baumann in Florida in May 2021 , which was not enough time for his body to get used to the new training system in preparation for Tokyo , but by the time the next international season begins , he will have been with his new training group in the USA for a full year , and that will have made a massive difference .
He would have had ample to time to settle in and adapt to how Baumann runs his camp , and what a camp it is . Van Niekerk trains alongside Noah Lyles , the 2019 200m World Champion and 2021 Olympic 200m bronze medallist , as well as Shaunae Miller- Oibo , who is the double Olympic 400m gold medallist . He should flourish in this environment , and should be back to his best over the 400m come the 2022 season .
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and expertise . The move should also inject new enthusiasm and motivation into Samaai ’ s jumping . He boasts a best of 8.49m , was the London 2017 World Championship bronze medallist , and won the African title in 2016 and 2018 , as well as the bronze medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games .
The Fast Track : Men ’ s 4x100m Relay
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It is not yet clear if Van Niekerk will return to South Africa for at least the National Championships . That would be determined by his coach ’ s plans for the season and the expectations of ASA , specifically whether athletes have to compete at the Nationals if they wish to represent South Africa at the World Championships .
Leap of Faith : Ruswahl Samaai
Like Van Niekerk , our leading long-jumper is now based in the USA . Samaai , a two-time African Champion , failed to qualify for the finals at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics , and was so devastated by his performance that he initially wanted to hang up his spikes . Instead , the 30-year-old married his sweetheart of eight years and then made the decision to give it one last shot , and thus sought the assistance of the legendary Dwight Phillips , the 2004 long jump Olympic Champion and a four-time World Champion , with a best of 8.74m , the fifth-best jump of all time .
Samaai has joined the Phillips training group in Atlanta in the USA , where he is training with , amongst others , Daria Klishina , the 2017 World Championship silver medallist , and in Philips , Samaai will have a mentor who has competed and won at the highest level , and he will no doubt benefit from this experience
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Ruswahl Samaai |
Notwithstanding the unfortunate results at the 2021 Olympic Games in the men ’ s 4x100m relay , South Africa should still consider themselves as medal contenders at the World Championships in July . Injury and a tight schedule were some of the reasons that team South Africa left Tokyo disappointed , being eliminated in the heats , but the promise is still there , if the team gets it right on the day .
There are a plethora of sprinters who could make up a South African 4x100m relay team , if all are fit . Akani Simbine , Wayde van Niekerk ( if available ), Anaso Jobodwana and Henricho Bruintjies are the more senior athletes . Throw in the likes of Shaun Phatutshedzo Maswanganyi , Clarence Munyai and a resurgent Tloltliso Gift Leotlela , and already you have almost two teams . Then you could include the young quartet of Benjamin Richardson , Sinesipho Dambile , Mihlali Xhotyeni and Lethlogonolo Moleyane , who won the World Under-20 4x100m Relay gold in a World Record time in 2021 , and you are spoilt for choice .
Of course , the latter four will be out to defend their World Under-20 title in August , but that should not preclude them from being part of the squad for the senior team and gives ASA many options on that front to build a relay culture and thus develop our athletes . In fact , ASA wants to host the first of a number of relay camps in January , but at the time of writing , the details were not yet available .
Tembisa Tornado : Ryan Mphahlele
Mphahlele descended like a whirlwind onto the Eden Street Mile Series in the South Western Cape over December . Three one-mile races in the space of five days ( two on the road , one on the track ), and he ran them all under 4 minutes , every one a dream mile ,
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Ryan Mphahlele
and all from the front with no pacemakers . Seriously impressive stuff !
Mphahlele took South African middle distance running by storm when he raced Uganda ’ s Joshua Cheptegei to the last 400m of a 3000m race in Pretoria in March 2018 , clocking 7:59.77 . Many pundits still believe that Mphahlele is something special over the 1500m / mile distance , and had it not been for injuries that laid him low in 2019 , from which he struggled to recover fully until late 2021 , he would have been on the start line of the 1500m at the Tokyo Olympics .
In 2022 , look to him to once again be at the forefront , literally , of 1500m running in SA , and it will be a surprise if he doesn ’ t make the team to the World Championships later this year . He is looking for a qualifier of 3:35.00 for the 1500m – well within his reach , given his mile performances of December last year .
Duelling Duo : Precious Mashele & Mbuleli Mthanga
Precious Machine Mashele and Mbuleli Mathanga should continue their ongoing battle to see who will be the best 5000m , 10km and half marathon runner in SA in 2022 . The two were involved in some iconic battles over 5000m in 2021 , when both were chasing an Olympic qualification . In the end , only Mashele made it to Tokyo , but you can expect the pair to once again be at the forefront in trying to qualify for the 5000m or 10,000m at the World Championships . So , if ASA ’ s Grand Prix Series provides enough races over those distances for the two between March and May , we could well see them both winging their way to the World Champs .
That said , both are probably better road runners , and are likely to set some scorching times on the roads in 2022 . They could well be the leading duo for SA at the World Half Marathon Championships in Yangzhou , China in November , as both took massive chunks off their half marathon PBs in 2021 – 24 seconds for Mashele , 70 seconds for Mathanga – and are desperately close to going under 60 minutes for the distance . To date , Stephen Mokoka is the only South African to break the hour on a record-
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Images : David Papenfus / Endurocad , Roger Sedres / ImageSA , Wikimedia & courtesy PUMA & Sportsmax TV |