South African legendary sprinter Geraldin Pillay is beaming with confidence and excitement, as team South Africa will be -going up against some of the best athletes in the world at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The long-awaited Olympic Games are currently underway following the opening ceremony on Friday.
For the first time in the history of the Olympics, the opening ceremony was not held in a stadium, as athletes paraded on the Seine with boats for each national delegation.
Pillay, a retired 100m sprinter, has described middle-distance runner Prudence Sekgodiso as the best thing that has ever happened to South African athletics since Caster Semenya in the 800m for SA.
“There is a lot of young talent coming through such as Prudence Sekgodiso, the young 800m sensation. I mean, we haven’t had anybody representing South Africa that well since the days of Caster Semenya and it’s amazing to see that we have Prudence representing us this year,” Pillay said.
“She is coached by Samuel Sepeng, who comes from an Olympic family, and Prudence is just vibrant and a lovely person on and off the track and she brings that energy into the race.
“Most importantly, she knows what she wants and is prepared for it. She has trained very, very hard for it and her mindset is right.”
Pillay also weighed in on the amount of pressure faced by 100m pacer Akani Simbine, saying that the Paris Olympics would probably be the final opportunity for him to finally deliver the elusive gold medal.
“I definitely think that this is the year of Akani Simbine to be on that podium and just making history. There’s a lot of pressure though because I think the country feels that he owes us.
“He owes us a medal and 2024 hopefully is that year where he brings back a medal. Physically we know he can do it; the body and the mind just have to be on the same page,” she added.
Pillay also put her head on the block and predicted that the track and fields will contribute to the medals that SA will deliver this year in Paris.
