Taking early steps to ensure the national track and field team is ready to shine next year, Athletics South Africa (ASA) has unveiled a 56-member Preparation Squad for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.
The preparation squad includes 39 athletes (28 men and 11 women) in individual events, as well as 17 other athletes who make up the men’s and women’s 4x100m relay squads, along with the men’s and mixed 4x400m relay squads.
The team features sprinter Akani Simbine, marathon runner Stephen Mokoka, and long jumpers Luvo Manyonga and Ruswahl Samaai, who all finished among the top five in their disciplines at the IAAF World Championships in Doha, Qatar two months ago.
A number of injured athletes have also been given places in the provisional squad, including Olympic 400m champion Wayde van Niekerk. They will need to prove full fitness if they hope to make the final team for the Tokyo Games.
Caster Semenya, who won the women’s 800m title at the 2016 Rio Games, has also been included, though her place in the final team will depend on the outcome of an appeal lodged at the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland regarding international gender rules on women.
Athletes who have made the initial squad were selected based on their performances in 2019 and will be monitored by the ASA high-performance department in the build-up to the Tokyo Games where the track and field competition is scheduled to take place from July 31 to August 9.
The final ASA team will be announced by the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) closer to the Games.
“There are a lot of expectations from this team after our failure to win medals in Doha. The Olympics are going to be a new competition for everyone even to those who were crowned champions at the World Championships,” said Aleck Skhosana, the president of ASA.
