23-05-2025
SA stars head into fiery international action at Rabat Diamond League
World indoor champion Prudence Sekgodiso, sprint king Akani Simbine and a star-studded cast of South African athletes face their toughest competition so far this year at the Diamond League meet in Rabat on Sunday evening.
Form 400m runner Zakithi Nene and Wayde van Niekerk, now focusing on the 200m, take on Olympic champions, while Zeney Geldenhuys and Rogail Joseph face the second-fastest 400m hurdler of all time.
Even Olympic silver medallist javelin thrower Jo-Ane van Dyk has a tough assignment, going up against 2023 world championship medallists Flor Ruiz of Colombia and Australian Mackenzie Little as well as Tokyo Olympic runner-up Maria Andrejczyk of Poland.
Sekgodiso turns her focus to the international outdoor circuit against a field that includes Ethiopian rival Tsige Duguma, the Olympic silver medallist from last year who currently owns the 1min 56.64sec world lead she set in China early this month.
Sekgodiso, who ended eighth in the 800m final at the Paris Games, beat Duguma at the world indoor championships final in China in March.
Halimah Nakaayi of Uganda, the 2019 world champion, and Natoya Goule-Toppin of Jamaica have also been faster than the South African this year, having clocked 1:58.39 and 1:58.43, behind Duguma.
