By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
National 100m record holder Akani Simbine will lead a small South African contingent at the third leg of the World Athletics Diamond League series in Florence, Italy on Thursday.
Simbine, who clocked 9.99 seconds to win gold at the Sizwe Medical Fund ASA Senior Championships in Tshwane in April, is one of only three athletes in the men’s 100m line-up who have dipped under 10 seconds this year, and he will turn out among the favourites for victory.
He will need to be at his best, however, against a field which includes Arthur Cisse of the Ivory Coast, who finished second behind Simbine at the 2018 CAA African Championships in Asaba, Nigeria as well as European indoor 60m champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs of Italy and British sprinter Chijindu Ujah.
Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Wenda Nel will be eager to build on her return to form this season in the women’s 400m hurdles race.
She will enter the blocks next to the likes of Olympic silver medallist Sara Petersen of Denmark and in-form Dutch athlete Femke Bol.
National 400m champion Zakithi Nene, who holds a season’s best of 45.03, is the third fastest man this year in the men’s one-lap field.
He too, however, will face a strong challenge against the likes of Commonwealth Games champion Isaac Makwala of Botswana and World Championships silver medallist Anthony Jose Zambrano of Colombia.
“We welcome any opportunity afforded to our athletes to get competition especially at this time when they are scarce throughout the world,” said James Moloi, the President of Athletics South Africa. “The good thing is that a sizeable number of our athletes have demonstrated preparedness for the Olympics, so we urge our three athletes to make the best of it.”
Schedule of SA athletes:
8.03pm – 400m hurdles women (Wenda Nel)
8.13pm – 400m men (Zakithi Nene)
9.48pm – 100m men (Akani Simbine).
Meanwhile Athletics South Africa regrets the cancellation, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, of the 2021 CAA African Senior Championships that were scheduled for Lagos, Nigeria on 23 – 27 June.
The cancellation of the continental showpiece will surely rob our athletes of a needed elite international competition before the Olympics.
ASA has, however, identified several domestic competitions in several ASA provinces that can still be utilised by our athletes to qualify before the Olympic Games deadline of 29 June for all events (excluding the Marathon and 50km Race Walk). They may also be used for preparation for those who have already qualified.
“While this in an unfortunate development, we understand that Covid-19 remains a threat and continues to be disruptive in everything we do,” said Moloi. Most of Africa and indeed, the major part of the world, is still being held hostage by the pandemic.
“It’s a pity, therefore, that our athletes will not be benefitting from the great competition that the African Champs offer and it’s unlikely that there will be another opportunity to host the continental event before the Olympic Games.
“However, this is not entirely a lost course for our athletes who are still looking for competition to qualify for the Games as there are several competitions that are available in our domestic calendar at our ASA provinces.
“We urge coaches and their athletes to make use of these opportunities which offer a variety including middle distance and track & field. They must keep in touch with the 17 provinces to find out what other usefull competitions are available before the Olympic cut-off date.
“For those who have already qualified, the same domestic competitions can be used for preparations, especially because most are used by international athletes who are holding camp in South Africa and thus add to needed competition. KZN Athletics, for instance, will include the 5000m events in their Middle Distance Meeting.”
The following are some of the key events identified by ASA for athletes and coaches:
| NAME OF EVENT | PROVINCE | DATE |
| League Meeting 3-5 | Athletics Gauteng North (AGN) | 12 & 19 June 2021 |
| WPA Middle Distance Meeting | Western Province Athletics (WPA) | 12 June 2021 |
| Field Events (PV, LJ,TJ) | Boland Athletics (BOLA) | 12, 19 and 26 June 2021 |
| KZNA Middle Distance Meeting | Kwa-Zulu Natal Athletics (KZNA) | 18 June 2021 |
| Open Meeting | Athletics Central North West (ACNW) | 26 June 2021 |
| Olympic Preparation Meeting | Kwa-Zulu Natal Athletics (KZNA) | 9-10 July 2021. |