OPINION: The track and field season is too long for SA athletes

It’s an issue that has been raised before, and athletes have found ways to get around it, but it still seems it would be better for the domestic track and field season to start later than it does.

The top-flight international season doesn’t start until May, and it carries through until September, so many athletes in the northern hemisphere are racing for just three or four months of the year.

In the southern hemisphere, however, South Africa’s season starts much earlier, and athletes end up competing for up to seven months.

Early in the year, many athletes in the northern hemisphere do race indoors, but the difference is that there’s a sufficient break in-between for athletes to recover from the indoor campaign and prepare for the outdoor season.

Individuals in the northern hemisphere also have a choice. They can peak twice (once indoors and again outdoors) if they want to, but South African athletes don’t have much choice.

In order to qualify for major international championships, they must compete at the SA Championships in April, and to qualify for the national championships, they must participate in provincial championships in March.

Running out of steam

Some individuals have been able to hit top form at home and abroad, but others run out of steam before they even get to the World Championships or Olympic Games.

Though she had an incredible campaign, winning two Diamond League races, Prudence Sekgodiso struggled in the Olympic final in Paris last month (where she was touted as a potential medallist and finished eighth) and she looked dead on her feet in the 800m race at the Diamond League final in Brussels on Friday night (again finishing last).

Experienced sprinter Akani Simbine, who also had a magnificent season and did manage to peak at the Olympics, settled for fifth place in the 100m race in Brussels.

Both Sekgodiso (2:03.16) and Simbine (10.10) clocked their slowest times of the year in their specialist events at the season-ending competition.

If the local campaign ended a month or two later than it does, our track and field stars might have the legs to go the full international season before they hit a wall.

South Africa’s weather is temperate enough to make it work and ensure the athletes are fresh when they line up against the world’s best.