South Africa gets Athletix Grand Prix series in 2018
The new ASA Athletix Grand Prix Series which will be held in March next year in South Africa, will present the ideal opportunity for local stars to prepare for the Commonwealth Games.
Athletics South Africa (ASA) announced earlier this week that an exciting new athletics series will next year be added to the local athletics calendar.
The ASA Athletix Grand Prix Series will offer a total prize incentive of R1 365 000 to athletes to produce outstanding performances.
This competition will feature three Grand Prix Meetings in March 2018, one month prior to the Commonwealth Games, which will take place from 8 to 15 April 2018 in Australia. South Africa’s finest will therefore have the ideal opportunity to hone their skills in a competitive environment as part of their global preparations.
These Track & Field Meetings will take place in Johannesburg (Thursday, 01 March 2018), Pretoria (Thursday, 08 March 2018) and Paarl (Thursday, 22 March 2018).
This elite series is intended to host and attract top athletes from around the world to test their best performances in South Africa.
The Meetings will have a tight programme lasting for 90 minutes. This will be an exciting evening out for SA athletics fans. Expect a full programme that will be compacted into 90 minutes of athletic action that is sure to have spectators at the edge of their seats.
With the standard of South African athletics showing tremendous improvement over the last few years, there is an ever growing hunger by fans to witness some of the world’s best athletes competing on home soil.
“We are excited to announce the series which we believe restores our domestic Track & Field season right back on top where it was about a decade ago. These Meetings will be explosive, entertaining and of the highest standard. This is the ideal opportunity for our athletes to put in those final touches before heading off to Australia and to other international destinations to represent this country in the best possible shape,” said Aleck Skhosana, the President of ASA.
Four of South Africa’s current athletes have broken the 10 seconds barrier for the 100m, while two have gone below 20 seconds in the 200m.
South African record holder Akani Simbine, who had a brilliant domestic and international season last year going five times under 10 seconds, is expected to continue his duel with Thando Roto in the 100m, who also dipped under 10 seconds.
World champions Wayde van Niekerk (400m), who is recovering from injury, Caster Semenya (800m), Luvo Manyonga (Long Jump) and world number three Ruswahl Samaai (Long Jump,) are also expected to be the highlight of the 2018 season and the Grand Prix is could offer some of them the platform to take off the new season.
The Athletix Grand Prix Series will be used to select athletes to the national teams.
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