By Mark Beer and Larry Lombaard
Ato Boldon and Merlene Ottey, the Caribbean speedsters who arrived in the country this week to compete in the Engen Grand Prix Summer Series, are surprised that Africa produces so few world-class sprinters.
"It's a mystery," said Trinidad and Tobago's Boldon, who claimed the silver medal in the 100m and bronze in the 200m at last year's Sydney Olympics.
"There is obviously a huge reservoir of sprinting talent in southern Africa, especially so on the rest of the continent, but for some reason it's not emerging.
"One only has to look at (South African-raised Namibian) Frank Fredericks, who was my hero and who always had time to stop and chat and give advice when I was a raw rookie looking to hobnob it with the top guys.
"Frank motivated me and he is probably one of the main why reasons I am still doing this (sprinting)," said the 27-year-old.
"Although he is one of the exceptions, Fredericks is the perfect example of the kind of raw talent capable of breaking the 10 and 20-second barriers for the 100 and 200 metres that is waiting to emerge in Africa.
"This continent in general should have a lot more consistent sprinters coming through."
Ottey, 40, from Jamaica, said there was no reason why Africa should not be producing the best sprinters in the world.
"The talent is definitely out there, but it is finding it and developing it from an early age that is first and most important thing," said the veteran superstar who has a collection of seven Olympic medals dating back to 1980.
"In Jamaica we have special scouts who go out looking for talented sprinters and work with them from when they are very young, and that is what is needed in African countries."
Young South African fliers like Mathew Quinn, Paul Gorries and Morne Nagel have a good few years to build up the strength and experience to crack the magical sprint barriers.
And they will be heartened by Boldon's remarks that the perception no longer exists that sprinters always reach their peak in their early 20s.
"Now we know that you can be at your best between 30 and 34," he said. "The secret is to avoid injury."
Boldon's advice for young sprinters regarding injury prevention is: "Spend loads of time stretching, warming up and warming down. These are far more important than the actual workout.
"And don't ever over-train. Stick to these two principles and you'll retain a balance."
Replying to a question about the dominance of black athletes in the sprints, Boldon said that he did not believe it was matter of "the colour of one's skin".
"It must certainly be a daunting task for white sprinters lining up against the seven of us sub-10-second runners," he said. "But I don't reckon it's a big deal.
"It's like baking a cake. Once you get the recipe right, then you can do it again the next time. White sprinters are going to come through pretty soon, and I wouldn't be surprised if it happens this year."
Boldon, who trains with Olympic 100m champion and world record holder Maurice Greene in Los Angeles, has tampered with a tried and trusted recipe just by being in South Africa. "I have never really started my training programme earlier than April, but this time I got going in the gym towards the end of January and I feel that I'm in really good shape," he explained.
"The altitude and the great weather were strong factors in me coming to South Africa at this stage of my build-up to the world championships in Edmonton (in August)."
After the Summer Series finale at Coetzenburg in Stellenbosch on Friday, Boldon will go back into training.
"I'll return to Los Angeles to train for a month and then compete with Maurice and the rest of our training group on the American circuit in May before going to Europe in June," he said.
Does he believe that as long as Greene is around, he and the others will continue playing second fiddle to the world and Olympic champion in the 100m?
"As sprinters, we single out one particular person at our peril," he said. "We deal in fractions of a second, which makes the difference between victory and defeat.
"Sprinters have the shortest memories when it comes to competition because victory, or breaking the world record, in your last race means nothing when you line up for your next race.
"So a sprinter's memory, or rather a lack thereof, becomes your best weapon because you know you cannot win every race. And the same applies to Maurice Greene.
"So my focus is on the 100m to try and add the world championship gold to my 200m win in the 1997 world championships."