South African athlete Johan Cronje is hopeful that he will be back at his best for Thursday night’s Diamond League series in Rome after breaking the national record just a few days ago.
The 27-year-old ran a time of 3:50.70 in Eugene on Saturday to set a new South African record for the men’s mile.
“I’m starting to feel normal now again,” Cronje told Sapa.
“The body and legs were very tired yesterday and today but I keep my mind busy with different things and I don’t think about being tired too much.
“The goal is to stay consistent in each race. With consistency a good time will come up along the way.
“I always hope for a tactical race because it’s more my scene, but it won’t be.”
Meanwhile, 800m runner Caster Semenya will make her international season debut as she looks to get the nod ahead of the Commonwealth Games.
Semenya is currently ranked outside Commonwealth top-five in her discipline and will need to improve on the 2:03.05 she ran to win the SA Senior Championships in Pretoria in April.
Sprinter Simon Magakwe will also be looking for a better performance in his second big race of the season following his eighth-place finish in Eugene in 10.13 seconds.
