Khotso Mokoena. File Picture: Roger Sedres/Gallo Images
Two changes have been made to the national track and field team on the eve of the World Indoor Championships in Birmingham, with long jumper Khotso Mokoena receiving a late invite and sprinter Emile Erasmus pulling the plug on his campaign.
Erasmus was not included in the provisional entry lists released by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) on Monday, after he revealed at the weekend he had withdrawn from the 60m event due to injury.
However, while Athletics SA had not yet announced the final team, the small squad was set to receive a boost with Mokoena joining a powerful national long jump contingent which already included outdoor World Championships medallists Luvo Manyonga and Ruswahl Samaai.
The 32-year-old athlete, who won the world indoor title in Valencia in 2008, received a wildcard entry from the IAAF after winning the World Indoor Tour in the long jump discipline last season.
The rest of the six-member national team for the showpiece, which was scheduled to start on Thursday, included sprinter Carina Horn, distance runner Dom Scott-Efurd and hurdler Antonio Alkana.
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