Sprint sensation Shaun Maswanganyi will give SA relay team a boost

Having stumbled at major global championships in recent years, some confidence has been lost in the national 4x100m relay team, but with South African sprinting back on the rise, the squad’s medal chances are looking brighter again.

National record holder Akani Simbine has been in superb form this season, showcasing his consistency with fast times and some dominant performances at home and abroad.

He has already clocked 9.92 seconds – at the national championships in Potchefstroom in March – and he dipped under 10 seconds for the fourth time this season when he won the men’s 100m race in 9.98 at the Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava this week.

With a wealth of experience, Simbine will be one of only a few real individual medal contenders in the SA team at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest next month.

And while it hasn’t looked like he will have enough backing in terms of depth to lead the national 4x100m team to a podium place, one of the country’s most promising talents has been quietly working hard across the Atlantic to give the relay squad a boost.

Maswanganyi finds top form

Already a world-class prospect, Shaun Maswanganyi has burst back into form after struggling to find top gear last year, delivering some explosive results to close out the collegiate track and field season.

Competing at the recent NCAA Division One Championships in Texas, Maswanganyi broke the 10-second (100m) and 20-second (200m) barriers for the first time in his career and clocked a lightning fast 9.91 personal best to grab bronze in the short sprint final – just 0.07 outside Simbine’s national record.

South Africa is one of five countries to have two or more athletes ranked among the top 20 in the world this year in the 100m (Maswanganyi is ninth and Simbine 12th), and the 4x100m relay in Budapest is likely to be a hard-fought battle.

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And while no other SA athletes have blown the track apart in the 100m this season, five of them have run 10.15 or quicker, suggesting the nation might have the depth to compete for a medal.

Of course, they will need to spend time practicing together (a perennial issue) and they will need to resolve any of the conflict which has affected the sprint squad in the past, but for the first time in a while, there is sufficient reason to believe.

Already the national 4x400m teams are being touted as potential medallists at the global championships, and with individual events looking relatively bleak in terms of medal prospects, the timing is perfect for the 4x100m team to find their groove.

Based on their recent form, Simbine and Maswanganyani might just give them a chance.

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