Athletics South Africa (ASA) high-performance manager Hezekiel Sepeng says he is working tirelessly behind the scenes to restore the hope and pride of the 800m in the country, as it has died down in recent years.
Since celebrated middle-distance runner Caster Semenya last won two Olympic gold medals and three World Championships in the women’s 800m, there has not really been someone who has come close to taking over the baton successfully.
Granted, Prudence Sekgodiso clinched gold in the World Indoor Championships in March last year in a season-best time of one minute, 1:58.4 seconds, and has been the closest to emulating Semenya, but she is yet to fully prove herself against the best in the world.
Sekgodiso also reached the 800m final in her debut appearance at the Paris Olympics last year but fell short when she finished 8th with a time of 1:58.79.
Speaking to Sunday World, building up to the World Athletics Relays in May this year, amongst many topics, Sepeng touched on the importance of restoring the pride of the 800m in SA.
“In the past, South Africa was known for the 800m. If you go back, you’ve got the likes of Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, who won some championships. Caster Semenya was there, also came in, and now we’ve got Prudence,” Sepeng said.
“I was there before them, but it kind of died down, but I still believe that we’re one of the best nations or countries when it comes to the middle distance, especially the 800m.
“My belief is always we’ve got a lot of guys that are doing 400m that should go and run the 800m. And I always mention the name of Leendert Koekemoer because of his physique and stuff like that. Because I always wonder what he can do in the 800m.
“But the training is a little bit different in the 800m, so there are a lot of them, and their physique will fit in very well. In the past, some athletes left it very late to transition to that.
“But we must come back. And I think I see the improvement on the female side with Prudence and Charne Swart – now du Plessis doing very well in the 800m. We’ve got Aviwe [Hoboloshe] also now coming up. So, there are a lot of ladies who are coming up in the 800m.”
Sepeng did, however, insist that the male athletes also must step it up in the 800m and is confident that with good coaching and identification of athletes, South Africa will return to the top come the Beijing Championships next year in China.
“We still must maintain the male because we were once world champs, Olympic silver medalists. So, that’s my role when it comes to the 800m.
“I think my brother [Samuel Sepengi] is a coach; he’s doing very well. And I think he’s the man who can take this also to the next level. He has been doing well with the guys from Botswana.
“We just need to identify athletes, let them come and train, and make sure that we have the best when it comes to the 800m. As I said, at some stage we were ranking … if you look at the nations, Kenya, the US, Great Britain, we were somewhere there, number five in the world when it comes to the 800m.”
- Athletics South Africa (ASA) high-performance manager Hezekiel Sepeng says he is working tirelessly behind the scenes to restore the hope and pride of the 800m in the country, as it has died down in recent years.
- Since celebrated middle-distance runner Caster Semenya last won two Olympic gold medals and three World Championships in the women’s 800m, there has not really been someone who has come close to taking over the baton successfully.
- Granted, Prudence Sekgodiso clinched gold in the World Indoor Championships in March last year in a season-best time of one minute, 1:58.4 seconds, and has been the closest to emulating Semenya, but she is yet to fully prove herself against the best in the world.
- Sekgodiso also reached the 800m final in her debut appearance at the Paris Olympics last year but fell short when she finished 8th with a time of 1:58.79.
- Speaking to Sunday World, building up to the World Athletics Relays in May this year, amongst many topics, Sepeng touched on the importance of restoring the pride of the 800m in SA.
Since celebrated middle-distance runner Caster
Granted, Prudence Sekgodiso clinched gold in the World
Sekgodiso also reached the 800m final in her debut appearance at the Paris Olympics last year but fell short when she finished 8th with a time of 1:58.79.
“In the past,
“I was there before them, but it kind of died down, but I still believe that we’re one of the best nations or countries when it comes to the middle distance, especially the 800m.
“My belief is always we’ve got a lot of guys that are doing 400m that should go and run the 800m.
“But the training is a little bit different in the 800m, so there are a lot of them, and their physique will fit in very well. In the past, some athletes left it very late to transition to that.
“But we must come back.
“We still must maintain the male because we were once world champs, Olympic silver medalists. So, that’s my role when it comes to the 800m.
“I think my brother [Samuel
“We just need to identify athletes, let them come and train, and make sure that we have the best when it comes to the 800m. As I said, at some stage we were ranking … if you look at the nations,
