A total of 19 athletes have been included in the South African team for the World Athletics Relays championship to be held in Guangzhou, China on 10 and 11 May 2025.
The national squad will compete in four events, including the men’s 4x100m, the men’s and women’s 4x400m and the mixed 4x400m.
The men’s 4x100m team will be anchored by national 100m record holder Akani Simbine, who earned bronze in the 60m final at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing earlier this year.
He will be joined by junior sensation Bayanda Walaza and fellow rising star Bradley Nkoana, both of whom joined Simbine in the sprint relay team that earned the silver medal at last year’s Olympic Games in Paris, as well as national 200m champion Sinesipho Dambile, Retshidisitswe Mlenga and Tsebo Matsoso.
4x400m squads
The men’s 4x400m team features SA one-lap champion Zakithi Nene, world junior 400m champion Udeme Okon, former world junior champion Lythe Pillay, Gardeo Isaacs, Tumisang Shezi and Mthi Mthimkulu.
Nene, Pillay and Isaacs all formed part of the quartet that earned silver in the 4x400m event at the World Athletics Relays in Bahamas last season.
The women’s 4x400m relay team will be led by national one-lap champion Miranda Coetzee, and she will be joined by hurdles specialists Zeney Geldenhuys and Hannah van Niekerk, as well as Shirley Nekhubui, Precious Molepo and Jada van Staden.
Isaacs, Coetzee and Nekhubui will also turn out in the mixed 4x400m event, along with Leendert Koekemoer, who broke the SA U20 men’s 400m record when he clocked 45.03 seconds at the ASA Senior Track and Field Championships in Potchefstroom last week.
Leotlela missing
Final entries for the World Athletics Relays were submitted by Athletics South Africa on 21 April 2025.
As a result, performances from the national senior championships in Potchefstroom could not be taken into account.
This meant national 100m champion Gift Leotlela, who won the SA title in 9.99 seconds last week, was not considered for selection.
A training camp for the national squad is planned from 3-6 May 2025 at the University of Johannesburg.
* Featured image of Akani Simbine by Cecilia van Bers
