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The irony of South Africa’s junior men’s relay team setting a new world record at the recently concluded world championships, while the senior team fumbled at the recent Tokyo Olympics, is hard to ignore.
The quartet of Mihlali Xhotyeni (18), Sinesipho Dambile (19), Letlhogonolo Moleyane (18) and Benjamin Richardson (17) won gold at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Kenya last week.
They blew away the competition with a sensational time of 38.51 seconds, accomplishing what many South Africans had hoped the senior men’s relay team would do at the Games. However, that team’s effort ended in heartbreak when Clarence Munyai and Shaun Maswanganyi dropped the baton during their exchange in the heats.
Three months earlier, the team of Munyai, Akani Simbine, Thando Dlodlo and Gift Leotlela had won gold at the World Relay Championships in Poland.
READ: ASA gets an idea of task ahead after unprecedented medal-less Olympics
Now the question is: What is next for the heroes of the Kenyan championships?
TuksSport High School pupil-athlete Richardson, who anchored the team to the new junior world record, said his wish was to repeat their accomplishment at the Olympics one day.
Richardson, who also won silver in the 100m with a time of 10.28 seconds, said:
“Winning gold has made me hungrier for more. It’s given me more motivation to work hard and go far in my athletics career. My dream is to become the best athlete I can possibly be and one day compete at the Olympics. That would be an amazing feeling.”
The Nelspruit-born ace said that, while he was looking forward to a long and fruitful career on the track, he was not going to put himself under unnecessary pressure.
“Next year I plan to compete in the U20 World Championships again in Colombia. I feel that there’s more I can do to improve,” he said.
His team-mate Dambile believes it is only a matter of time before South Africans win medals in the 100m or relays at the Olympics.
“It’s unfortunate that we’ve come very close, but haven’t yet won. I thought we stood a good chance this year, especially in the relay. But I think it’s going to happen some day because of the number of top-quality sprinters the country’s producing,” said Dambile, who is also a matriculant at TuksSport High School.
READ: Off the blocks | You Wayde and see, our sprinters will rise again
Xhotyeni, Dambile and Richardson are all based in Pretoria while Moleyane is at Grey College in Bloemfontein.
Athletics SA president James Moloi said it was important to help junior athletes progress to the next level.
“I must congratulate all our athletes for representing us with distinction. We’re very proud of what our juniors achieved at the World Championships. These athletes are the future and we need to give them the necessary support from a junior level,” Moloi said, further adding:
The achievement of the youthful quartet in Nairobi was not the first time home-grown sprinters have blazed a trail at an international event.
In 2017, Tshenolo Lemao clinched gold in the 100m, and Retshidisitswe Mlenga did the same in the 200m at the IAAF U18 World Championships, also in Kenya.
Lemao now has a scholarship at Florida State University in the US.
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