OPINION: Luxolo Adams is not in shape and shouldn’t go to Paris

Now that he’s run twice over the last couple of weeks, it is clear that Luxolo Adams should not go to the Olympics.

The removal of the 27-year-old sprinter from the SA team for the Paris Games has not only caused controversy but has landed up in court.

Adams, however, should not be selected ahead of Wayde van Niekerk for the 200m event in the French capital.

That’s not to say Adams doesn’t have a legal case. He was initially included in the team, and then removed, and Athletics South Africa’s qualifying criteria doesn’t seem to give the federation much leeway to select athletes based on form.

But picking Adams would be a mistake because he’s not in shape.

Poor form

While he has apparently recovered from a hamstring injury that derailed the first half of his 2024 campaign, in his only two 200m races this year, Adams clocked 21.50 in Italy earlier this month and 21.31 in Switzerland on Tuesday.

To put this into perspective, his season’s best ranks him 67th in South Africa in the 200m sprint, and the country has 19 junior athletes (including two 15-year-old sprinters) who have run quicker than him this year.

The reality is that five South African athletes have achieved the qualifying criteria in the 200m event, and only three can go to Paris.

In a scenario like this, where two athletes are going to miss out, it makes sense for ASA to pick the three athletes who are in the best shape, which is what they’ve done by selecting Shaun Maswanganyi, Benjamin Richardson and Van Niekerk (ahead of Adams and Sinesipho Dambile).

Correct decision

If Adams wins his court case, and ASA is forced to select him, it means Van Niekerk will be dropped from the squad and won’t be able to compete in the 4x100m or 4x400m relays, which puts a dent in the nation’s medal hopes.

It must be disappointing for Adams to have lost his spot, but he needs to admit that he’s not fit enough to represent his country right now and should focus on regaining his form, rather than forcing ASA to spend money on legal costs to fight the matter in court.

The federation has made the right decision.