Mihlali Shotieni, Sinesipho Dambile, Retrogonolo Moleyane, Benjamin Richardson. (Roger Sedres/Gallo Images)
You could have set your clock on South African Athletics' (ASA) SA Senior National Championships press release. Wade van Niekerk and Akani Simbein were central to what the children mentioned. It's been like this for years, and it's happened again this year.
The organizers of the four-day competition at the Umsunduzi athletics stadium, which starts in Maritzburg from Thursday, are not necessarily wrong, but these two will attract attention at any athletics competition, but South Africa Now is the time to move forward. Whether it's an Olympic year or not, the country's expectations place an undue burden on them.
Van Niekerk, the 400m world record holder, and Simbane, the fastest 100m sprinter in South Africa's history, remain the top performers in the 100m (Simbane) and 200m (van Niekerk) events in national competitions. He is a man who can win. There's no realistic expectation they'll lose, but Paul Goreys isn't too sure, despite his tongue-lashing.
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