Olivier ready for rare 600m race

Olivier is one of four South African athletes who will turn out at the 12th leg of the top-flight track and field series.

“I’m feeling good and ready for a nice, fast 600m. It should be an interesting race,” he said on Saturday.

Olivier has never run an individual 600m event, though he did compete over the distance in a relay race last year.

After securing the bronze medal in the men’s 800m final at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, the 24-year-old middle-distance runner made himself unavailable for the recent African Championships in Marrakech because late changes were made to the SA team, disrupting his schedule.

His withdrawal gave him a three-week break from racing, and Olivier said he was ready to hit his straps this weekend.

“I’m feeling fresh. I think the rest did me good.”

Fellow middle-distance star Johan Cronje, who broke the national mile record when he clocked 3:50.70 in Eugene in May, will again compete over the 1.609km distance at the Diamond League event.

Cronje, the World Championships bronze medallist last season, narrowly missed out on medals in Glasgow and Marrakech, and he will hope to put up a strong fight in the latter stages of the season.

African champions Zarck Visser (men’s long jump) and Sunette Viljoen (women’s javelin throw), who both secured silver at the Commonwealth Games, will also compete in Birmingham.

Visser settled for fourth place at the Diamond League meeting in Stockholm on Thursday night with a best leap of 7.98m, just 11cm short of training partner Khotso Mokoena who secured victory.

Viljoen has not competed since bagging her fourth continental title less than two weeks ago.

– Sapa