SA athletes enter Olympic fray aiming to end seven-year medal famine

Prudence Sekgodiso and Adriaan Wildschutt are in action in Paris on Friday as the Olympic focus shifts from swimming to track and field, where South Africa is hoping to break a seven-year drought in serious silverware.

The last time they made the podium at a major meet was at the world championships in London in 2017, but seven years, three world championships and one Olympics later not a single athlete has climbed a podium.

They’ve had a couple of successes at World Relays in that time, most notably the men’s 4x400m silver in Bahamas in May, but the traditional barometer of success has been the Games and the sport’s own global championships.

Only once before has South Africa gone two straight Olympics without a track-and-field gong and those were the showpieces on either side of World War 2, at Berlin 1936 and London 1948.

The class of 2024 is not short of talent, but there are no guarantees either.

Swimmer Tatjana Smith and mountain-biker Alan Hatherly came to France as South Africa’s only sure bets, but athletics offers a few options on the rung just below certainty.

Sekgodiso, just 22, has picked up the women’s 800m torch carried with aplomb by Caster Semenya, heading into Paris with a good shot of making the final, possibly even getting onto the podium.

Her heats are on Friday with the semifinals on Sunday and the final on Monday.

Wildschutt competes in the men’s 10,000m, a straight final, on Friday evening, and though he’s up against three Kenyans and three Ethiopians plus a few more blindingly quick distance stars, he has been closing the gap on them in the past couple of seasons.

The planets will have to align and the winds blow favourably for him to finish in the top three.

Next up in the 100m heats on Saturday is veteran sprinter Akani Simbine who finished fourth at Tokyo 2020 and fifth at Rio 2016. He’s been in fine nick this season but, like anybody else wanting a medal, he’ll have to be on top of his game.

The 100m semifinals and final are on Sunday.

Long-jumper Jovan van Vuuren soared to an impressive 8.30m earlier this season, but he will have to prove he is over his recent injury come the qualifying round on Sunday.

Monday sees US-based discus talent Francois Prinsloo take his first throw at the Olympics. The 22-year-old is one to watch for the future, which he’s hoping could begin as early as the final on Wednesday next week.

Marioné Fourie, another 22-year-old, begins her quest in the women’s 100m hurdles on Wednesday and she’s another who could go all the way to the final.

And then there are the men’s 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams which swing into the fray late next week. 

Both are likely to star Wayde van Niekerk.

Of the two, the 4x400m probably is the better bet. They won the World Relays silver medal and are seeded third behind Botswana and Zambia, but one can’t dismiss the US, even though they rank lower.

Jamaica had a faster time this year, but the island nation still failed to qualify for the Olympics. 

With them out of the picture South Africa’s odds improve, but Van Niekerk, Lythe Pillay, Zakithi Nene and their teammates must make it count.

Everyone with a sniff has to make it matter.