Olympic glory awaits Caster, Sunette

Javelin throwerSunette Viljoen showed she means business in an Olympic year in Doha, producing an excellent 65.14m to win the event, the biggest throw of the year. Photo: Kai Pfaffenbach

Javelin throwerSunette Viljoen showed she means business in an Olympic year in Doha, producing an excellent 65.14m to win the event, the biggest throw of the year. Photo: Kai Pfaffenbach

Published May 8, 2016

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Cape Town – The revolution is well under way, and it’s taking the world by storm. And no, it’s not 18th-century France, but rather the revival of South African athletics.

And following Wayde van Niekerk’s golden moment at the world championships in Beijing last August, get set for more glory from our superstars at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in August.

There some sparkling performances once more this weekend that proved that South Africa can approach the Olympics with some confidence when it comes to athletics.

Van Niekerk will be one of the favourites for the gold medal in the 400m, and proved his class again at the weekend when he scorched to a superb 44.11 seconds in the South African Open Championships in Bloemfontein.

The stadium clock had initially shown that he had run 43.88, which would’ve been the fastest time in the world this year, but later officials said that it was a technical fault and that this time was actually 44.11.

Nevertheless, it was still the second-fastest one lap in 2016, against a field where Van Niekerk wasn’t tested at all. But he rounded off his local season in style on his home track, and will be taking a bit of a breather for the next few weeks before beginning his Olympic preparations in earnest in Jamaica, when he will be part of a training camp with Usain Bolt’s team in Kingston.

He will be joined by SA 100m record holder Akani Simbine, and the duo will finish off their stay in the Caribbean by running in the Racers Grand Prix.

But it’s not all about male sprinters.

Two of our darlings in track and field, Caster Semenya and Sunette Viljoen, brought great pride to our athletics scene by grabbing victories in the opening Diamond League meeting of the season in Doha on Friday night.

Former 800m world champion Semenya sauntered around the track for the first 600m or so, and the moved quickly through the field and was pumping those legs at the end as she won in a 2016 world-leading time of 1:58.26.

It was the first time this year that the 25-year-old Semenya had been tested, as she won race after race during the South African season virtually on her own, whether it was in the 400m, 800m or 1 500m.

But the fact that she could run such a fast time in Doha while hardly raising a sweat bodes well for her attempt to go one step further at the Rio Olympics after ending with a silver medal in the 2012 London Games.

Javelin thrower Viljoen, like many of the top athletes, made a slow start to her year as she wants to peak at the Olympics in August.

She won the SA title in April in Stellenbosch with a throw of 59.39m, but showed that she means business in an Olympic year in Doha. Viljoen produced an excellent 65.14m to win the event, the biggest throw of 2016 so far.

Next Thursday marks exactly three months before the track and field competition starts in Rio, and Athletics South Africa are elated about the progress of our athletes.

“This (Diamond League) series forms the pinnacle of the international track and field circuit, outside of major championships, and to have two winners at the first meeting of the year is a fantastic achievement,” ASA president Aleck Skhosana said on Sunday.

“This gives an indication of the magnificent performances we can expect this season, in the build-up to the national team’s highly anticipated campaign at the Rio Olympics.

“Congratulations also to all athletes who competed in Doha! There were promising performances all round by a strong South African contingent.”

The 32-year-old Viljoen took to Twitter and Facebook to express her satisfaction with her first serious effort of the year, and having won a bronze medal at the world championships last year, she is one of the favourites for gold in Rio.

“Victorious at @dldoha. This is what I’ve worked SO hard for. It is just a fantastic start to the season, couldn’t ask for better, with an ideal first throw. There is of course still room for improvement, now I will go back home and train before I go to Rome (a Diamond League event on June 2).

“Thank you for all the messages of support. It makes the Olympic fire burn even more higher. Thank you my fellow South Africans. #Rio2016”

Discus thrower Victor Hogan, a Boland athlete, also had a relatively successful outing in Doha, ending in third place behind world champion Piotr Malachowsi of Poland with a distance of 65.59m.

Cape athletics fans can also celebrate the fact that another local athlete, 400m hurdler Lindsay Hanekom, finally cracked an Olympic qualifying time at the weekend, also at the SA Open Championships in Bloemfontein.

Hanekom – who hails from Blackheath, but is now based at the University of Pretoria – had come close to the qualifying mark of 49.40 on several occasions, but never quite made it until Friday, when he ran a new personal best of 49.03.

The SA champion in the 400m hurdles, LJ van Zyl, will be in action on Saturday when he will be one of three South African athletes participating in the next Diamond League meet in Shanghai.

The others who will travel to China are long jumpers Ruswahl Samaai and Luvo Manyonga – who have both qualified for the Olympics – as well as 800m runner Rynhardt van Rensburg.

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@IndyCapeSport

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