Akani Simbine and Wayde van Niekerk are confident in themselves and their teammates.
With South Africa having gone eight years without picking up a medal at the biennial World Athletics Championships, the senior members of the national squad are confident the drought will end at the global track and field showpiece starting in Tokyo on Saturday.
While the SA team raked in six medals at the 2017 World Championships in London, they failed to step on the podium at subsequent editions in Doha, Eugene and Budapest.
However, Akani Simbine felt the 49-member SA squad had the ability to return home from Tokyo with some accolades.
Simbine, who finished in the top five in the men’s 100m sprint in London, Eugene and Budapest, was again among the contenders in the short dash, and he was set to anchor the national 4x100m relay squad who earned silver at the Olympic Games in Paris last year.
Other medal contenders
The 31-year-old sprinter believed the full squad had the ability to achieve multiple podium places.
Aside from his own ambitions in the individual sprint and the 4x100m relay, Simbine pointed to the likes of the men’s 4x400m relay team (led by individual 400m prospect Zakithi Nene), as well as Olympic javelin throw silver medallist Jo-Ane du Plessis and world indoor 800m champion Prudence Sekgodiso.
“We’re not here just to participate. There are athletes who can make finals, and in a final you can literally do anything… and it’s up to you to make it happen,” Simbine said.
“The potential is there, the confidence is there, and when I’ve had conversations with the guys, they are feeling good and feeling up to it, and I’m looking forward to us supporting each other.”
Breakthrough athletes and seniors
Another experienced sprinter, 400m world record holder Wayde van Niekerk, was equally confident in the squad’s abilities.
While Van Niekerk admitted he was not expecting a medal in his individual event (200m sprint) he hoped to play a key role in the 4x400m relay team.
“There are some athletes who are getting an opportunity as a breakthrough and there are some athletes who are seniors like me, trying to fight ourselves back into medal contention,” Van Niekerk said.
“And then you get our favourites like Akani (Simbine), Zak (Nene) and Jo-Ane (du Plessis), and overall I think we can get some good momentum, and then we’ll see. It’s all about making the final and then anything is possible.”
