Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 50, September 2013 | Page 12
It looked as if Team South Africa would return from the 2013 IAAF Track and Field World Championships in Moscow empty-handed, but then Johan Cronje popped up with a surprise bronze medal in the men’s 1 500m on the last day – and there were a number of other impressive performances by our athletes in Moscow, even if medals were scarce.
Moscow
Bronze medallist: Johan Cronje
Van Zyl took bronze in the men’s 400m hurdles and Sunette Viljoen also won bronze in the women’s javelin. Then at the 2012 London Games, Caster’s silver in the women’s 800m was undoubtedly the highlight of the Games, while Sunette narrowly missed a medal with fourth in the javelin and Khotso once again made the long jump ?nal, but a big talking point was youngsters Anaso Jobodwana making the ?nal of the 200m, Lehann Fourie running in the ?nal of the 110m hurdles, and Marc Mundell setting an African Record in the men’s 50km walk. Meanwhile, Willem Coertzen ?nished a solid ninth in the decathlon. Thus South Africa went to Moscow hoping to build on the success of London, and while a single bronze medal may look like a poor return, the number of athletes in ?nals is still something to brag about!
he SA team headed to Russia with several athletes considered medal contenders, such as Lehann Fourie in the men’s 110m hurdles, Khotso Mokoena in the men’s long jump and Sunette Viljoen in the women’s javelin, amongst others. While Lehann unfortunately had to withdraw due to injury, the SA team still had six athletes qualifying for their ?nals after preliminary qualifying rounds, with another seven athletes automatically appearing in ?nal rounds. That saw Victor Hogan end ?fth in the men’s discus, Sunette claim sixth in the javelin, and Khotso ?nish seventh in the long jump, while Willem Coertzen set a new SA and African record in the men’s decathlon as he took ninth position, and Elroy Gelant was 12th in the men’s 5 000m. But it was Johan Cronje and sprinter Anaso Jobodwana that stole the show. TOP PERFORMERS In the men’s 1 500m ?nal, Johan looked to have gotten his race tactics wrong, as he was tightly boxed in for much of the race. With just 250m to go and the pack winding up the pace, the SA record holder was still down in eighth position and looking out of contention, but then things opened up for him at just the right time and he surged up the inside lane to claim a podium position in 3:36.83, the ?rst ever by a South African in the 1 500m at a major Champs. “I believed in myself, but I wouldn’t have put money on myself,” says Johan. “I had a terrible tactical race – I couldn’t go fast as everyone was on my right, and it was only the last 60 metres I had to go past, as that’s when it opened up on the inside.” In the sprints, Jamaican Usain Bolt further cemented his status as the greatest of all time, but all of SA’s eyes were on Anaso Jobodwana in the 200m ?nal. In July he won the 100/200 ‘double’ at the World Student Games in Russia, and after making the semi-?nal round in the
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ISSUE 50 SEPTEMBER 2013 / www.modernathlete.co.za
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– BY SEAN FALCONER
World Champs 100m, he then clocked 20.14 in the 200m ?nal to ?nish sixth, improving on his eighth position at the 2012 London Olympics. “I was happy about how I ran in Moscow – I didn’t lag this time, like I did in London – but when I got to the straight I tried to kick and I started to tire up,” says Anaso. “The up is that I ran three consistent races of a high standard and I made it to the ?nal, but I didn’t run a personal best and I didn’t medal. That disappointment will help me going into next season, and I’m going to be ready for next season!”
Finalist: Khotso Mokoena, 7th SA Record: Willem Coertzen, 9th
Finalist: Anaso Jobodwana, 6th
Finalist: Sunette Viljoen, 6th
Images: BACKPAGEPIX
HUNTING MEDALS Over the past ?ve years, South Africa’s performance at World Champs and Olympics has ?uctuated somewhat. With the team having returned from the 2007 World Champs in Osaka, Japan with no medals, an immediate improvement came at the 2008 Beijing Ol [\X?? [??? ?H ?[ ?\?YY[ ???H?? ??[???[?H[? H???[\ ?[?] H ? H???[\ ?[??\?[?X?[Y[?H][]Y ?H[??\?\??[Y[?XH?? ????[? H H ?X?\? ?[H?? ???Z[YY[??\????[\ ?[ ?\??[? ? LH H ?[?Y?Y? ?? H???[\ ?[?YY?K??]??XH ?\?H H ?[ ?\?YY[ ? ???H?\?\?[? H H[? HY[??&\?
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