Missed opportunity: Relay squad notably absent from SA athletics team

Despite a shortage of real depth, the SA team looks good to return home with some medals from the World Athletics Championships for the first time in six years, but one potential podium place has vanished before the showpiece even starts in Budapest next week.

A 36-member national team was announced this week, including the likes of 400m world record holder Wayde van Niekerk and former Commonwealth Games 100m champion Akani Simbine, who are both among the contenders over their specialist distances.

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Others will be hoping to spring a surprise, including rising sprint star Shaun Maswanganyi and shot put giant Kyle Blignaut, while the national 4x100m relay team will hope to combine well enough to challenge for a medal.

In another relay event, however, South Africa would have had a real chance, had they been given (and accepted) sufficient opportunities to qualify.

4x400m relay

The 400m is the only event on the programme at the World Championships in which South Africa has three men’s and women’s qualifiers, making it currently the country’s best distance in terms of top-flight depth.

And with a mixed 4x400m relay on the schedule, it seemed like a given that the SA squad would be in the hunt.

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Of course, it’s never that easy and there are some things that need to be considered.

Firstly, it’s a real challenge to get the country’s best sprinters together for relay races, or even to train, due to logistical issues, with athletes being based around South Africa and across the world.

With the mixed relay heats and final being held on the opening day of competition, it would also have been a challenge to convince the nation’s top 400m runners to focus on it, which could have had an impact on their individual events later in the programme. Nobody wants to be tired when they start the first-round heats of their individual event.

Every chance counts

So there are reasons that there will be no SA team in the mixed relay in Budapest, but it is a pity that they won’t be in action.

Even if they reach the podium in other events, the national squad will not be raking in a record haul at the World Championships, and one more real chance for a medal would have been great.

Hopefully the ability to focus on their individual races will give the country’s 400m runners a chance to show their best form without potential fatigue hanging over from the relay.

Otherwise it will be hard not to think that their absence from the relay event will have been a wasted opportunity.