Five of the nation's six qualifiers will not turn out in the marathon races at the World Championships in Tokyo.
We’re still not certain who is actually going — and we won’t until the national team is officially announced — but it seems most of South Africa’s marathon qualifiers will not compete at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo next month.
Over the weekend, Glenrose Xaba became the latest among a list of five SA athletes to reveal they will not turn out in the 42km races in the Japanese capital.
All of them have different reasons, so let’s go through them…
Xaba was hoping to compete at the World Road Running Championships, which was expected to be held at the end of September before the United States pulled out as hosts.
As a back-up option, she hoped to qualify in a track event for the global track and field championships. In my opinion, that was nothing more than a far-fetched dream.
Regardless, she is now left with insufficient time to prepare for the marathon in Tokyo next month, and she will focus instead on an international marathon later this year.
And everyone else’s situation is different.
Other athletes skipping world champs
In the case of Cian Oldknow, one of the most promising marathon runners South Africa has ever produced, she’s had complications with her nervous system which have kept her sidelined this year.
Fortunately, she seems to have figured out the cause, and hopefully we will see her back in action next season.
For ultra-distance star Gerda Steyn, veteran athlete Stephen Mokoka and Adam Lipschitz, their focus is on the Cape Town Marathon in October.
Steyn and Mokoka have represented South Africa multiple times at global championships, and they have earned the right to give this one a miss. They have other ambitions and we can’t hold anything against them.
Lipschitz is an enigma. He’s essentially a very talented amateur runner, and the only reason I’m under the impression he isn’t running in Tokyo is because sources have told me so. But he must make whatever decision suits him best.
Gelant on his own
So that leaves Elroy Gelant.
Unless World Athletics offers lower-ranked athletes a wildcard entry, which is unlikely, Gelant will be our only representative in the marathon in Tokyo.
Gelant is also running the Cape Town Marathon, with a very quick turnaround, but he has repeatedly done us proud by carrying the SA flag at major global championships, and if he wants to run both races, he must do it.
Gelant feels the World Championships race won’t be quick. It will be tactical. And he’s probably not wrong, which might leave him with enough energy to tackle the Cape Town race.
Regardless, like Steyn and Mokoka, he’s earned the right to do whatever he wants and I really don’t think we can judge him.
Unlike 100m sprinters, marathon runners can’t race 30 times a year. They have to race sparingly, and if they want to focus on races where they can make more money than the World Championships, they must go for it.
We can criticise athletes for snubbing our country. We can’t judge them for needing to feed their families.
So it is weird that we’ll have only Gelant competing in Tokyo, but to each their own.
Let’s hope he smashes the hell out of it. If we’re gonna have someone wearing a South African vest in Tokyo, I’m glad it’s Gelant. He’ll do us proud, as he always does.
