No Akani Simbine, but plenty to watch at SA athletics championships

News24

24-04-2025

The Athletics SA (ASA) Senior Track and Field Championships will take off in Potchefstroom, North West, [today] on Thursday where the jostle for World Championships will run until Saturday.
The opening day on Thursday will close with the100m and 200m finals across the men and women's categories in the afternoon.
Day 1 Programme ??? #ASASeniorTFChamps #AllRoadsLeadToPotch #FillUpPotch2 pic.twitter.com/NuASjrrfeb
— Athletics South Africa (@AthleticsSA_) April 23, 2025
Ace sprinter Akani Simbine will not be around to defend his 100m title.
Instead, the 31-year-old has opted to race in the Diamond League in China on Saturday where he will face-off against Botswana star Letsile Tebogo, as well as Britain's Jeremiah Azu, who beat Simbine in the 60m final at the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing last month.
While it is compulsory for SA athletes to take part at the meet in Potch to be considered for selection for the World Championships, ASA has exempted Simbine and a few others from the national event.
After all, the 31-year-old has twice attained a qualifying time for the global event in Tokyo, Japan.
He clocked 9.82seconds at the Olympics in Paris, France, last year, as well as a 9.90 at the Botswana Golden Grand prix a fortnight ago.
Both times breached the standard entry mark of 10.00 seconds, and well inside the qualifying window period, which opened in August last year and will close this August.
BAYANDA WALAZA FAVOURITE TO WEAR AKANI'S CROWN
In the absence of Simbine, the men's 100m competition will still be lit, with Bayanda Walaza odds-on favourite to win it.
The 19-year-old Walaza is coming of age, a transition that is backed by a 4x100m Olympic silver medal and double gold, in the 100m and 200m, he won at the world junior championships last year.
He attained both feats late last year, and like Simbine, he has also qualified for the World Champs in Tokyo, courtesy of his 9.99 seconds blitz, at the Gauteng North Provincial Championships, in Pretoria, last month.
In Potch, Walaza is expected to be pushed for the 100m title by the likes of fellow rising stars, Karabo Letebele, Abduraghmaan Karriem, while not discounting Benjamin Richardson, who has also qualified for the World Champs in Japan.
In the women's short dash, Viwe Jingqi, Shirley Nikhubui and teenage sensation Hanna Vermaak are the ones to watch. To earn a ticket to Tokyo, the trio and other hopefuls must attain the standard entry mark of 11.07 seconds or lower.
200m AND 400m CONTESTS EQUALLY FIERCE
Seasoned campaigners Wayde van Niekerk and Luxolo Adams are expected to feature in the 200m race.
The 400m competition will pit reigning world junior champion Udeme Okon and Olympian Zakithi Nene.
The 19-year-old Okon is tipped as apparent heir to the 400m throne once held by Van Niekerk, who is now slowing down since he suffered a knee injury in 2017.
The future of South African athletics is here! ??
Youngster, Udeme Okon showing what he is bringing this season in the men's 400m ???? #ASAGrandPrix2 pic.twitter.com/a84dOMYm3f
— SuperSport ?? (@SuperSportTV) March 19, 2025
Nene and Lythe Pillay have already qualified for Tokyo, and Okon must run 44.85 in Potch to join them in Japan.
Pillay will miss the national championships because he is also racing at the Diamond League in China on Saturday.
LUVO MANYONGA RETURNS TO HISTORIC GROUND
It was on the sandpit of McArthur Stadium where long jumper Luvo Manyonga leaped to a national and African record of 8.65m to claim the national title on 22 April 2017.
Now 34, Manyonga is set to make his long-awaited return to competitive athletics after serving a four-year doping ban that ended in December. His comeback was delayed for several weeks due to a hamstring strain.
On Thursday afternoon, he will face a strong challenge from talented jumpers like Jovan van Vuuren, Cheswill Johnson (both represented SA at the Paris Olympics last year), as well as Temoso Masikane and Nikithemba Hani.
LOOK OUT FOR PRUDENCE SEKGODISO IN MID-DISTANCE
The nation's newfound hero Prudence Sekgodiso will double in the 800m and 1500m as part of her build up to the World Championships in Tokyo.
The 23-year-old breached the standard entry mark of 1:59.00 twice already during the qualifying window. Charne Swart has laso dipped under two minutes this season.
Sekgodiso capped her solid start to the year with a gold medal at the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing last month.
Rising marathon star Glenrose Xaba, who is coached by Caster Semenya, is also the one to watch in the women's 1 500m.