South Africa's world-conquering relay stars hope to build on exploits before World Championships

Daily Maverick

15-05-2025

The South African athletes who formed part of the medal-winning teams at the World Athletics Relays in China say the country's sprinting is in an extremely healthy space.
Following a successful and medal-winning expedition at the World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou, Team South Africa's relay stars landed to much fanfare at Johannesburg's OR Tambo Airport on Wednesday, 14 May 2025. The prevailing sentiment? Optimism.
Athletics South Africa (ASA) sent a team boasting youthful exuberance, which was balanced by experience, to China. On one end of the spectrum was veteran Akani Simbine (31), while on the other was the youngest member of the team — Leendert Koekemoer (18).
'They can do this'
Running alongside global starlet Bayanda Walaza, as well as Sinesipho Dambile and Bradley Nkoana — Simbine anchored South Africa's charge to a memorable men's 4x100m relay gold medal in Guangzhou.
To underline his longevity, Simbine recently made history when he became the first athlete in history to run under 10 seconds for 11 successive seasons in the men's 100m category. The record was previously held by sprint deity Usain Bolt, before Simbine overtook it in April.
Simbine — who was not part of the party that landed in Johannesburg on 14 May — expressed his pride and excitement in terms of what the future holds for South African sprinting. Especially because other exciting runners, such as Shaun Maswanganyi and Benjamin Richardson, were not part of the winning effort in China.
'They're showing that they can do this and that they can handle pressure up here at the elite level. So, I'm looking forward to seeing the growth. I'm looking forward to seeing them take over the world and show that South Africa is a sprinting nation as well,' Simbine told FloTrack in Guangzhou.
Exciting future
Koekemoer, on the other hand, is just starting his senior career. The Helpmekaar College matriculant played a pivotal part as his spirited run in the penultimate leg of the relay helped South Africa strike gold ahead of Belgium and Botswana respectively in the 4x400m final.
Gardeo Isaacs and Udeme Okon had laid a great foundation, before Koekemoer took the baton and handed it to team captain Zakithi Nene for the final leg and overall victory in a national record time of 2:57.50.
'The experience was very good; it was my first time out of the country. All the senior guys helped me and made jokes with me. They invited me in and didn't look at me like I'm a little kid… It was a great experience,' Koekemoer said of his time in China.
Perfect blend
Although she did not run in the 4x400m women's final, team member Jada van Staden expressed her delight with how her teammates had clinched bronze — crossing over in a national record time of 3:24.84 behind Spain and the US.
Van Staden said the 4x400m team — comprising captain Zeney Geldenhuys, plus Olympian Miranda Coetzee, Shirley Nekhubui and Precious Molepo — had done exceptionally to not be overawed by the occasion.
'The fact that we had our own big names in the team motivated us. My teammates are big names themselves, they've achieved so much. That's also what was so lovely about our team, the mix between three of us being youngsters, while the other three others were the elders of the team,' Van Staden said.
Indeed, for all its issues, ASA seems to have perfected the recipe for blending youth and experience.
Whereas in previous years there seemed to be a disjuncture between the upcoming athletes and their seniors, there appears to be a palpable synergy between this group of sprinters. This can only benefit the country positively before the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
But first up are the World Championships in Japan, which take place from 13 to 21 September.
Junior world champion Walaza says that South Africa is perfectly positioned to once again bag some medals at the event.
'These relay medals show the whole world that South Africa is strong and they must not take us lightly. I believe that after these gold medals, it's brought the spirit of wanting to bring even more medals individually. We can see that as a country we are as strong as other countries,' Walaza said. DM