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Athletics SA releases full calendar for 2022 season
The national federation is hoping for a complete athletics season for the first time since 2019.
After returning to the calendar in the second half of the 2021 season, the six-leg Spar Grand Prix women’s 10km series is on the cards again next year. Picture: Carl Fourie/Gallo Images
Though it remains unclear how the ongoing Covid pandemic might affect the 2022 season, Athletics South Africa (ASA) is hoping for a full campaign after releasing a provisional fixtures list on Monday.
The 2022 season is set to include a full series of national leagues, trials and championships across all disciplines, with some iconic domestic events returning to the calendar.
The track and field campaign is expected to feature five ASA Grand Prix meetings, as well as four Winter League meetings, with the SA Senior Championships taking place in Cape Town in April.
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The local season also includes a new ASA Relays championship, to be held in Mpumalanga, and a national track and field trials event, taking place in Durban, ahead of the World Athletics Championships in Eugene in July and the Commonwealth Games in August.
With elite athletes having returned to action this year, and mass fields making a comeback in the latter stages of the 2021 campaign, a full road running calendar is expected next year for the first time since 2019.
The popular Two Oceans ultra-marathon and half-marathon will be held over two days in Cape Town in April, the Durban 10k CityRun is set for July, and the Comrades Marathon ultra-distance race in KwaZulu-Natal has found a new date in August.
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Near the end of the year, the Cape Town Marathon is again expected to attract a world-class field in October, and the Soweto Marathon is due to be held in November.
Having been hosted by the Cape Town Marathon in recent years, the SA Marathon Championships will be shifted next season. The 42km domestic showpiece is set for Durban in May, while the SA Half-Marathon Championships will again be held in Gqeberha in June and the SA 10km Championships is in Pretoria in August.
A date has not yet been confirmed, however, for the Om Die Dam ultra-marathon in Hartbeespoort.
Meanwhile, aside from the World Championships and Commonwealth Games, the 2022 international athletics calendar also includes the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade in March, the African Championships in Mauritius in June, the IAU 100km World Championships in Berlin in August, and the World Half-Marathon Championships in Yangzhou in November.
