Author: Tanika Laskey

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Tebogo, Haingura and Sekgodiso light up the track at second ASA Grand Prix

Tanika LaskeyFeatures, NewsLeave a Comment on Tebogo, Haingura and Sekgodiso light up the track at second ASA Grand Prix

By Karien Jonckheere

Botswana’s athletes stole the show at the second ASA Grand Prix meet of the season in Pretoria on Monday night.

Better known for his exploits over 100 and 200m, having medalled in both events at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest last year, Letsile Tebogo looked right at home in the 400m. The 20-year-old stormed to a comfortable victory in a new personal best of 44.29 seconds, so also securing Olympic qualification in the event.

Tebogo gave a hint of what he could do in the longer distance when he set a new world best of 30.69 seconds over 300m at the Simbine Curro Classic Shootout in Pretoria last month.

With his sights set firmly on the podium at Paris 2024, Tebogo told SuperSport: “No human is limited so you have to do everything that it takes.

“For us coming here it was just to check how the body was going to respond because we’ve been doing a lot of gym so you can see how the body runs and if I will get tired along the way.

As for what comes next, the world junior record holder over 100m added: “The plan for now, I think we’re going to rest for a week or two because it shows that the speed is there… the other plan for the Diamond Leagues is just to run and get used to them so that we cannot be scared when we meet in Paris at the Olympics.”

Earlier in the evening, Tebogo’s compatriot, Hethobogile Haingura claimed an Olympic qualifying time of his own in the men’s 800m.

A man on a mission to get to Paris, Haingura took to the front immediately and completed the two-lap event in 1:43.94, well under the required time, and also slicing a second and a half off his PB in the process.

The man from Botswana probably didn’t realise it at the time, but he had run the fastest ever 800m time on South African soil. The previous mark of 1:44.57 set back in 1996 in Cape Town belonged to Marius van Heerden, who sadly died of Covid in January 2021.

As Haingura collapsed to the track after his race, he was embraced by his elated training partner, Prudence Sekgodiso, who also produced an impressive performance in the women’s 800m on Monday night, dipping under the two-minute mark once again to take the win in 1:59.93. The 22-year-old South African set a new personal best of 1 minute 58.05 over 800m just a few weeks ago in Pretoria to also book her ticket to Paris.

Road To Redemption: Simbine sets sights on Paris

Tanika LaskeyFeatures, NewsLeave a Comment on Road To Redemption: Simbine sets sights on Paris

By Karien Jonckheere

After shaking off a disappointing end to last season, which had started so promisingly but ended with a false start in the 100m semifinal and a dropped baton at the World Athletics Championships, Akani Simbine is only looking forward.

Forward to next month’s National Championships and then on to the Olympic Games in Paris. He’s now a married man, feeling settled and revved up for the season ahead.

“I’m feeling good, it’s been a good start to the year, a good start to the season. I’m healthy, training is going really well, I had my first off-season race with the 150 which went well, and everything is just going according to plan right now,” he explained, referring to the new SA record he set in the rarely run 150m at the Simbine Curro Classic Shootout in Pretoria last month.

“That was very important because I think coming from my last race, which was the DQ at world champs, it was a confidence booster and also getting that tick in your mind saying that OK, you know what, I can still do this, I’ve still got that competitive edge, I’m still hungry to compete,” added the 30-year-old.

“We’re building up to SAs now, making sure that I run well there, retain my title there, and get on to the rest of the year. I’m looking forward to it, confident for the season, confident for the year.”

Simbine has described the Olympic year ahead as one in which he and his coach Werner Prinsloo are taking care of unfinished business.

“Paris is a race and a place where I’m looking forward to running. For Coach and I it’s also kind of like a redemption road where we had everything ticked off last year and the false start happened. So now this year it’s about coming back and just keeping on working and doing everything that we need to do to make sure we’re ready to race.

“It’s just another race at the end of the day… It’s just the title that changes and I need to get that in my head and to accept that and enjoy it and give my all,” added the two-time Olympic finalist who has earned a reputation as one of the gentlemen of the sport.

Perhaps what keeps him so grounded is his mission to give back through his company Back Sports, which aims to provide a platform for younger athletes to excel – not only in the sport itself by broadcasting their exploits but also by getting them involved behind the scenes in the TV production.

“We’re giving the students an opportunity to learn production, to learn how to shoot, how to do media and just giving them that skill… So we pay them a salary, and then you’re allowed to go train, go to championships.

“For us it’s literally empowering them in those ways, just changing lives, and just making a small impact where we can. We’ve been blessed with an opportunity with Supersport schools to spread our wings and shoot the sporting events and empower more kids and have more reach. I think we have teams all over the country and that’s close to 100 kids that we are changing lives for, that’s 100 families that we’re changing lives for and impacting. And for me, if we’re doing that, I’m happy.”

Training ON SA Vibes

Tanika LaskeyFeatures, NewsLeave a Comment on Training ON SA Vibes

South Africa has been a favourite winter training destination for European athletes for many years. What that means is that they head to sunny SA in their European winter months – our summer – for training in our great weather conditions, when running outdoors back home is likely to be washed out by snow, rain, wind and freezing conditions. Two of these athletes are George Mills of Great Britain and Tom Elmer of Switzerland, who are also part of the ON Athletic Club (OAC), sponsored by ON apparel and shoes. Both have been coming to SA for a number of years, and we caught up with them in between double training session days for a chat about their experience in and thoughts on SA. – By Sean Falconer 

And the Winners Are…

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In our February edition, we announced that for the first time since it was launched in 2009, Modern Athlete magazine is presenting a comprehensive annual Modern Athlete of the Year Awards, to recognise as many deserving South African athletes as we can, for their performances in 2023, across all the disciplines of athletics and running that we cover in this mag. And here, after putting out heads together and discussing, comparing, tabulating and debating, are our winners for 2023! – By Manfred Seidler, Stephen Granger, Altus Schreuder & Sean Falconer 

Take Charge!

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If you were ever in a dangerous, life-threatening situation while you were out running or cycling – or anywhere else, for that matter – would you know what to do, in that split second, to possibly save your life? Or what not to do? Do you know there are only three things you can do? To find out more, we spoke to Mark Grobbelaar, runner and founder of INpowered, a revolutionary approach to personal protection.

The Running Mann: The Mann in the Middelburg

Tanika LaskeyFeatures, NewsLeave a Comment on The Running Mann: The Mann in the Middelburg

I have visited Middelburg several times to run the Loskop Ultra Marathon, but have spent very little time in the town itself, as the Loskop route directs you straight out of town and towards the Loskop Dam. Therefore, I was looking forward to getting better acquainted with the Mpumalanga town during the Blue Mining MMC Marathon, which was the only January marathon I did not yet have on my running CV… – By Stuart Mann