Top athletics administrator advises athletes to start focusing on 2021
According to one of the top local athletics administrators in Pretoria, chances are slim that any further athletics action will take place this year, whether in South Africa or overseas.
South Africa’s athletes should forget about competing this year and instead start to prepare for the 2021 season.
That is the advice the well-known and widely respected manager at TuksAthletics, Danie Cornelius, is giving to athletes and coaches. The current coronavirus crisis is obviously the reason for his opinion.
“As things stand, it is not sure whether World Athletics will allow any of the major meetings to happen. I would be surprised if they do,” Cornelius explained.
Eight of the 15 Diamond League Meetings have been suspended. With the situation in Europe slowly returning to normality, there is a belief that some meetings might still take place.
World Athletics has however announced earlier that no athlete will be able to qualify for the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games between April 6 and November 30. Cornelius considers it as an indication that World Athletics might be thinking to postpone all events.
“It would make sense to do so. Why would athletes want to compete if they can’t qualify for the Olympics? Some might argue there is money to be made. I don’t think that is enough of an incentive for top athletes to compete,” Cornelius remarked.
He said due to the pandemic the whole world has basically been in lockdown. The reality is that most athletes had not been able to train on a track for weeks. Even though most continued training at home, it is no guarantee that they are race fit.
According to Cornelius any athlete will tell you the only way to become competitive are to race. If given the ‘greenlight’ tomorrow it still will take five to six weeks before athletes will consider themselves ready to compete.
“My question to athletes is, do you want to risk all too maybe compete in two or three meetings this year? A major problem facing South Africa’s top athletes is they hardly ever get to do proper preseason training. Their season usually ends in September. By March during the provincial championships, they start to compete again. There is no better time than now for athletes to focus on what they are forever finding excuses not to do,” he said.
There is a lot of talk about sports events happening with empty stands. Cornelius does not support the idea.
“Athletes need fans to help them perform at their best. Mutaz Barshim’s performance during last year’s World Championships in Doha is a good example. With the crowd on their feet for every jump, Barshim cleared 2.37 metres on his first attempt. It was good enough to ensure he won gold,” he explained.
According to Cornelius, even if there are going to be international athletics meetings, the chances of any South African athletes competing remains slim.
“There are no indications as to when athletes in South Africa will be allowed to start training again. I expect it might only be in August. If so, it will be too late to get in shape to compete internationally,” the Tuks manager concluded.
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