It was a bad day on the track for the national team on Monday, as both South African athletes in action were knocked out of their events.

Wayde van Niekerk, who was aiming to defend the title he won at the 2016 Rio Olympics, finished fifth in his 400m semifinal in 45.14 and he was eliminated.

In the women’s 400m hurdles, Wenda Nel was seventh in her semifinal in 56.35 and she was also unable to progress to the final.

For the 33-year-old Nel, this decent performance at the Games probably means the end of her career as an international athlete.

She can rightly be proud of her career as a top athlete, which spanned nearly 15 years.

After initially excelling as a sprinter and in the shorter hurdles item, later in her career Nel began to specialize as a 400m hurdles athlete.

In this item she had great success, as evidenced by her nine SA titles as 400m hurdles champion. She also won the African title twice in the event, while boasting a silver medal at the All-Africa Games.

Then she also competed in the final of the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, China and in 2018 at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in Sydney, she won a bronze medal for South Africa.

Although Nel herself has not yet given any indication about her future, it will not surprise anyone if she probably retires as a professional athlete soon.

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