Cape Town - Following the withdrawal of Wayde van Niekerk, there was more drama at the SA athletics championships on Thursday before the action began, with Viwe Jingqi also pulling out.
Rio Olympic 400m champion Van Niekerk was set to compete in the 100m and 200m at the Green Point Athletics Stadium in Cape Town, but pulled out on Thursday morning with a hamstring injury.
Teenage sprint sensation Jingqi was then supposed to take part in the 100m heats in the morning as well, but did not line up for the first race of the day.
Her coach, Paul Gorries, told IOL Sport that Jingqi had picked up a hamstring niggle during the week, and there were doubts about whether she would take part in the 200m as well.
But now, she won't be competing in either event.
"She felt a bit uncomfortable. I don't want to risk her," Gorries said on Thursday morning.
Jingqi was excited to take on the senior athletes once more, having won a 200m race in Germiston last week.
“For this weekend, I’m planning on having fun, than having to stress myself about this whole competition! I just want to have fun with the seniors… seeing how much pressure I can put on them, because I have already qualified for the world junior championship,” the 17-year-old matric student at TuksSport High School said during a press conference on Wednesday.
“So, I want to make history and scare the seniors even more! I want to show them that I can (compete). I’m cool, no pressure…”
But her main focus is the world junior championships in Colombia in August, with Gorries telling IOL Sport that Jingqi won't take part in the world senior championships in Oregon even if she had to qualify.
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