Olympic athletes will be able to test themselves ahead of Paris Games

Not that they’ve been sitting about twiddling their thumbs for the last couple of years, but for any athletes chasing Olympic medals in Paris next year, the real build-up starts now.

Fortunately for those who do have podium ambitions, athletes in South Africa’s most popular Olympic codes won’t have to rely entirely on domestic competitions to prepare, with top-flight international events on this year’s calendar giving them a real chance to test themselves at the highest level.

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The nation’s extremely capable but equally volatile sprint relay track squad will have a crucial chance to sort out some of their kinks at the World Athletics Relays to be held in Budapest between 13-14 May.

World Championships

And the rest of SA’s struggling athletics team will receive their own opportunities to build some confidence when the World Athletics Championships is held in Budapest between 19-27 August.

Provided they can make the grade and gain entry into the top-flight series, track and field athletes will also do well to compete on the Diamond League circuit, which has seen a dearth of South African participants in recent years but will be key to anyone looking to gain valuable experience ahead of the Paris Games. The series will include 14 meetings around the world between May and September.

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Similarly, for triathletes, there will be a full international season which features the World Triathlon Championship Series to help athletes prepare for the Olympic cauldron, capped by the campaign finale to be held in Pontevedre between 23-24 September.

Swimmers won’t have quite as many opportunities to test their early form as part of their long-term build-up to the multi-sport showpiece, but they too will have a chance to compare themselves against their biggest opponents from across the globe when they turn out at the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka between 14-30 July.

The International Cycling Union has taken a different approach this year, but it won’t have any negative effects on cyclists, with the global championships incorporating all disciplines (road, mountain bike and track) into one event for the first time.

All disciplines will be contested at the Cycling World Championships to be held in Glasgow between 3-13 August.

Final test

So some athletes will have more chances to test themselves than others, and anyone hoping to take advantage of these opportunities will need the necessary resources and support to get abroad.

But no South African medal hopefuls will have to go into the Olympic year untested, with test-runs on the cards in every major code giving them a chance to ensure they are on the right track ahead of next year’s spectacle. A last chance to check what’s working in their training programmes and get rid of what’s not.

And if they want to be ready for Paris, they’ll need to put most of that work in the bag this year while they can. Next year will be all about sharpening up, and all tests and experiments will need to be completed by then.