Team SA qualify for world athletics champs
Akani Simbine of South Africa competes during the Men's 4x100 Metres Relay qualifying round 1 at the World Athletics Relays Guangzhou 2025 in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, May 10, 2025.
DURBAN - South Africa is celebrating the success of its athletes at the World Athletics Relay Championships in Guangzhou, China and having qualified for the World Athletics Championship in Tokyo later this year.
WATCH | World Athletics relays | Team SA tops medal table
To answer these questions, we spoke with athletics coach Chris White.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald
2 hours ago
- The Herald
Kolisi bites back at critics over team's performance
As the United Rugby Championship (URC) heads into its decisive stages, all eyes turn to Pretoria this weekend, where the Sharks will square off against the Bulls in a much-anticipated SA derby. Despite finishing third in the regular season, the Sharks have come under scrutiny for what many have described as an underwhelming campaign, a label which Springbok captain Siya Kolisi dismisses with calm defiance. The Sharks, who edged past Munster in a dramatic 100-minute thriller last weekend, are no strangers to gritty battles. Deadlocked at 24-all at full time, the clash in Durban went to a rare penalty shootout where the Sharks triumphed 4-2. It was a match which highlighted their resilience and unpredictability. 'I know this is a massive topic,' Kolisi said. 'There are many reasons why we haven't played to our full potential. 'A lot of people are looking at the results and the way we play. 'We know it's something we need to work on and when we review our games we see our shortcomings. 'Sometimes it's only the one person who is at fault at a particular time.' Kolisi insists the Sharks are building something powerful and they're not concerned with outside opinions. 'The most important thing is we are winning, and we know there will be a day where we will play well. 'We have a lot of confidence [in beating the Bulls] as our team has done this before. 'We have beaten the Bulls three times this season, but we know all of that means nothing and it will be a new fixture this weekend. 'We have a lot of confidence heading into the match.' One of the biggest talking points of the Sharks' season has been the inability of their star-studded line-up, featuring up to 12 Springboks, to consistently replicate their dominant international form at the club level. While fans and pundits continue to question this disparity, Kolisi remains unfazed. 'The game plan [for Springboks and Sharks] is not the same, so I can't answer that question. 'I personally give my all for both the Sharks and Springboks. 'They are just two different systems we as players have to deal with, but if people are doubting our effort when we play for the Sharks, they must look at our stats when we play for the Sharks and when we play for the Springboks.' Indeed, the contrast between their club form and international dominance has been stark, but Kolisi argues it is more a matter of tactical variation than lack of intensity. Last weekend's showdown was not without drama. In the shootout phase, Sharks scrumhalf Jaden Hendrickse drew attention after what appeared to be a taunt directed at Munster's Jack Crowley. Hendrickse, who cramped up immediately after his kick, was seen winking at Crowley, sparking an on-field verbal exchange caught clearly by the referee's microphone. 'There is absolutely nothing wrong with what Jaden did there,' Kolisi said. 'These things happen in rugby and other teams have done similar things before. 'Sometimes people also say things to me in a game and the onus is on the person and what they do when they are provoked. 'There are players in Jack's team [Munster] who also do the exact same thing to other players from the opposition. 'It's just that this time on the day it was heard from the referee's mic. We stand with Jaden. 'We're not going to get distracted. The focus is this weekend, nothing else.' With the Bulls seen by many as favourites to reach the URC final, the Sharks find themselves once again in the role of disrupters. But if their past three meetings this season are anything to go by, the Durban outfit have every reason to believe. They may not have lit up the season with flair, but in knockout rugby grit often trumps style. With Kolisi ready to charge and a battle-hardened squad behind him, the Sharks are ready to prove their doubters wrong, one ugly win at a time. — SportsBoom
The Citizen
4 hours ago
- The Citizen
Bulls v Sharks: SA rugby's grit and pride
The Sharks have played much of their rugby in difficult conditions and may find the altitude and free-flowing rugby of the Highveld to their liking. Sharks loose forward Siya Kolisi and Bulls captain Ruan Nortje have spoken of their team's need to win the URC semi-final. Pictures: Steve Haag Sports/Gallo Images. The Sharks are banking on their never-say-die attitude and double over the Bulls in the regular season to propel them through their first-ever United Rugby Championship semi-final, played at Loftus on Saturday (kick-off 6.15pm). The Bulls will have much to say about that, however. With seven consecutive wins in the tournament and having a more consistent season and historical success in the URC, they have spoken much of their intent to right wrongs – both against the Sharks and by going all the way this time. The Sharks' penalty shootout victory over Munster in the quarter-final was indicative of a URC season that saw them win half their games by seven points or less. Fans have been vocal about how their team has not hit their straps – something players and coaches have admitted themselves – but the Sharks have still found a way through. 'The result is all that matters' Loose forward Siya Kolisi spoke of the fighting spirit that has seen the Sharks win their last five games, while four of them were tight. He said in previous years his side would have lost those games (they finished 14th with just four wins last season). But they have grown, fringe players stepping in for stars who were injured and punching above their weight. What better way to show their growth than by winning the URC's SA shield for the first time, which they did in March. 'The result is all that matters,' Kolisi said. And he's absolutely right. However, the Sharks have played much of their rugby in difficult conditions, Kings Park included, and may find the altitude and free-flowing rugby of the Highveld to their liking. Set-piece, kicking and breakdown will determine Bulls-Sharks game Still, the Bulls, fresh from scoring six tries against Edinburgh, will be favourites playing at home despite the Sharks' 10-point victory there three months ago. Yet for all the high expectations placed on them, during a lengthy press conference, three Bulls players took turns telling media essentially the same thing: they knew the threat the star-studded Sharks posed and relished the challenge. 'They are very good set-piece-wise. They have a massive pack. Quality, international players we all know,' Bulls captain Ruan Nortje said. 'They are very good at their contestable kicking game and the breakdown. That's three places the game will be determined, without a doubt.' Sharks coach John Plumtree will bring the full might of his Springbok-laden side to bear, hoping they can pull off another gritty win. The Bulls' Jake White will be analysing and re-analysing every aspect of how the game will unfold, as he is wont to do. At the end of the day, the players will determine the outcome, with the winner to face either Leinster or Glasgow Warriors in the final next weekend.
TimesLIVE
17 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
Early start leaves Lord's finalists nervy over composition of line-ups
The Proteas have long been mindful of the conditions they will face in the World Test Championship (WTC) final at Lord's next week; be it the weather, the Dukes ball or the slope. It's why they've been careful not to read too much into the outcomes — runs scored and wickets taken — of their match in Arundel against Zimbabwe, where they are using a Dukes ball, there is no slope like at Lord's although the weather has been characteristically crap. No play was possible because of rain for what would have been the third day of their warm-up match Thursday and it may lead some to question why so much stock was put in having the fixture. Temba Bavuma described warm-up matches as largely a waste of time, but even he would have found some value in making 58 on Wednesday. For the rest this was about rhythm, with the mindset stuff kicking into gear once they get to London at the weekend. The conditions at Lord's are of great interest to both WTC finalists, mainly because it's unusual for either side to play a match at that historic venue, this early in June. This is war!!! — Nqobile Madela (@nqobzasheen) June 5, 2025 The last time Australia did so was in 1921, while for SA, in seven Tests at Lord's after isolation, only once have they played at a date as close to next week's June 11 start. That was in 1998 when a century from Jonty Rhodes and a five wicket haul for Allan Donald set up a 10-wicket win. For the rest they've either played there in Late June, July or August as the was case for the Proteas's last trip to Lord's in 2023. 'We haven't played a lot of cricket at Lord's in June so we're going have to make some educated guesses on what the game potentially will look like and that'll generally inform our selection,' Australian coach Andrew McDonald. His side had a team-bonding session in Inverness, Scotland last week and have been conducting some spirited training sessions in Bromley, having forgoed the option of a warm-up match. They, like SA, face questions about the composition of their top order; for the Proteas it's about who will bat at no3, while Australia is weighing up options for an opener to accompany Usman Khawaja. Wiaan Mulder batted at 3 in Arundel, a spot he batted in twice last summer, although not with any great success. He was trapped lbw for 28 on Wednesday and given the quality of the Australian attack and Dukes ball that nips and swings more than its Kookaburra cousin — which both SA and Australia use at home — it is a big risk. Rain delays play in England 🌧️ Wet weather has halted the Proteas' warm-up match ahead of the ICC World Test Championship Final. Fingers crossed for clearer skies ☁️🏏. #WTCFinal #WozaNawe #ProteasWTCFinal — Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) June 3, 2025 The Proteas feel they will need Mulder's bowling and even though Shukri Conrad made Tristan Stubbs his no.3 batter last year, it now appears that the head coach feels Stubbs might be better suited to the middle order. Batting coach Ashwell Prince offered little about SA's tactics, saying Mulder was being prepared in case that was the way they would go, but all options, including Tony De Zorzi, who batted at no.6 against Zimbabwe, remain on the table. McDonald expressed a similar sentiment about Australia, who are understood to be considering Marnus Labuschagne as Khawaja's opening partner, with Cameroon Green their new option for the no.3 berth. 'The batters ... really, it's about how we want to shape that order, they're all viable options depending on how we want to stack them up,' said McDonald. 'We try to make the right decisions at the right time and we're a few days off having to make that decision, so we'll just be trying to prepare everyone for that opportunity.' SA's bowlers didn't get the work out they'd hoped for on Thursday — having bowled just 11 overs the previous evening — and they will want the weather to clear in the coming days to allow them to get much needed miles in the legs before next Wednesday.
