Sprinters offer hope of resurrection for South African athletics

At the start of the athletics season, it’s never clear who is going to perform well that year, but the national championships is always a good indication of what we can expect during the international campaign.

And after a 2022 season which we might rather forget, it took just a few days this week for South Africa’s top sprinters to give us reasons to smile again.

The nation’s most consistent athlete in recent years, Akani Simbine, had a tough year last season, settling for silver medals in defence of his African and Commonwealth Games titles, and it was clear from the start that it wasn’t going to be his year.

Bouncing back

Simbine usually exits the blocks like a lightning bolt, producing superb form during the domestic campaign before peaking again during the European season. But last year he was sluggish and took a long time to find top gear, ultimately struggling throughout the year.

In Potchefstroom this week, however, we saw him at his best again, clocking 9.98 and 9.92 in the preliminary rounds and making a real statement.

His 9.92 was the third fastest he has ever run in South Africa, and if history tells us anything, it’s that he’s ready for a spectacular 2023 season.

READ MORE: Simbine, Horn win 100m titles at SA Athletics Champs

Simbine is a beast. He has run under 10 seconds 34 times since 2015, and he has finished in the top five at the last three editions of the World Championships and the last two Olympic Games.

Those results already make him one of the best sprinters South Africa has ever produced, but the reality is that he needs a major global medal if he’s going to be remembered in the same way as the likes of the legendary Paul Nash and his close friend Wayde van Niekerk.

He will still have an opportunity to secure his place on an Olympic podium in Paris next year, but a World Championships medal in Budapest this year will be enough to cement his place as a local icon, and he will be confident of his chances.

Similarly, it was great to see Wayde van Niekerk storming around the track in the 400m event this week.

It was unclear whether he would ever make a real comeback from the knee injury he picked up in 2017, and though he did find some form last year, he wasn’t nearly as quick as he was before being sidelined.

In Potchefstroom, however, he looked supremely fit and it seems like he has completely recovered from his injury.

ALSO READ: Wayde van Niekerk makes big strides at SA Athletics Champs

He will need to turn up the heat on the international circuit if he wants to win his third world title in Budapest, but like Simbine, he truly looks like he’s back to his best.

With Caster Semenya sidelined by gender rules and Luvo Manyonga gone for good, South African athletics is relying on Simbine and Van Niekerk to carry the flag until some younger athletes are able to take over their thrones.

Fortunately, both of them are still clearly hungry for gold, and seeing them tearing up the track this week was a tremendous relief.