IN THE NEWS
South African athletes making headlines
Images : Renee Scott , Reg Caldecott , Tobias Ginsberg & Courtesy Lucky Mohale
Dom Breaks SA Indoor Record
Olympian Dominique Scott-Efurd broke her own SA Record for the indoor 3000m at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix meeting in Boston on 28 January . In a very fast race that saw Hellen Obiri of Kenya run a world leading time to win in 8:39.08 and the next three runners all post personal bests , the South African finished fifth in a time of 8:54.06 , improving on the 8:55.19 she set in 2015 . ( Dominique has actually run faster , 8:52.57 , but that was on an oversized track and thus the time cannot be used for official record purposes .) The new SA Record came hot on the heels of her course record at the Nutribullet Bay to Bay 15km race in Cape Town , while back from the USA to visit her family for the Festive Season .
ASA Unveils New T & F Speed Series
A new elite track and field series of meets has been confirmed by Athletics South Africa for 2017 . The Speed Series will take place in a four-leg sequence beginning in Durban on 28 February , before moving to Bloemfontein on 8 March , Potchefstroom on 15 March and Germiston on 22 March . This series will assist athletes in launching and fine-tuning their domestic campaigns as they prepare for the SA Champs and competing on the world stage while chasing selection for the World Champs in London later this year , as well as the World Relays in Bahamas , the CAA African Junior Championships in Algeria , the CAA African Youth Championships in Equatorial Guinea , the World Youth Championships in Kenya , and the Commonwealth Youth Games in Bahamas .
Elroy Heads to Kenya for Training
With the support of Athletics South Africa , middle-distance Olympian Elroy Gelant will spend a month training with some of the world ’ s best athletes in a bid to improve his performance and rival the dominant East African distance runners . The 30-year-old athlete , who holds the SA 5000m record of 13:04.88 and finished 13 th overall in the Rio Olympics 5000m Final , will use the opportunity at the camp to prepare for the 2017 season . “ The aim for the training camp is not only the high
altitude , but for Elroy to be able to train with the best in the business ,” says Aleck Skhosana , President of ASA . “ Our athletes can only gain from such training camps , in order to bring back our former glory in middle and long distance events .”
Provisional SA Squads Announced & Enlarged
In preparation for the IAAF World Cross Country Championships later this year in Uganda , ASA recently added another 19 athletes to the Provisional National Cross Country Squad , including some top names in distance running , Stephen Mokoka , Sibusiso Nzima and Lebogang Phalula . The final team will be announced after the various trials contests . Meanwhile , ASA has announced a 33-member National Relay Preparation Squad that will begin preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games . The squad includes Olympic champions Wayde van Niekerk and Caster Semenya , and will be given the opportunity to compete on the domestic circuit this season , including the new ASA One Hour Elite Comp series . Also , plans are in place to get our relay teams to the IAAF World Champs later this year .
Quick News
• Lucky Mohale finished fourth in the Xiamen ( Haicang ) International Half Marathon in China on 10 December , clocking 1:03:10 .
• In the USA , Annie Bothma ran away with the 5000m at the Virginia Tech Hokie Invitational indoor meet in Blackburg on 19 January . Running for her Coastal Carolina University team , she clocked a PB 16:25.25 to win by nearly two full minutes !
9