FIVE MEDAL CONTENDERS: SA TEAM AT THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS -

The 49-member South African team will be looking to secure the nation’s first medal in eight years at the World Athletics Championships when they open their campaign in Tokyo on Saturday.

We take a look at five of the country’s best medal prospects at the 2025 edition of the biennial showpiece.

Jo-Ane du Plessis

With track athletes often stealing the limelight at international events, Du Plessis sort of floats about in the background, doing her thing without some of the exposure other athletes get.
However, she is undoubtedly one of South Africa’s top athletes, as she made clear by finishing among the top three at four Diamond League events in 2025, including the series final in Zurich.
Du Plessis has also shown she has the ability to go big at major championships after throwing beyond 64 metres for the first time in her career at last year’s Olympic Games in Paris, on her way to securing a silver medal.
The 27-year-old athlete has not thrown further than 63m this season, but she has sent her spear sailing beyond 62m on four occasions, and based on her form and consistency, she might be the best medal hope in the entire SA team.

Akani Simbine

The most consistent sprinter on the international circuit for the last decade, Simbine will be as hungry as ever to earn his first individual medal at the World Championships.
At the last four editions of the showpiece, he has finished in the top five on three occasions, missing out on the final only once when he false started in the semifinals in Budapest two years ago.
He secured bronze in the 60m sprint at the World Indoor Championships earlier this year and went on to win three 100m races on the Diamond League circuit.
After taking a short break to recover during a long season, he didn’t look as sharp as usual when he returned to the track, but he took second place in the recent Diamond League final in Zurich and he feels he is peaking at the right time.
At the age of 31, he is one of the oldest 100m sprinters competing at top-flight level, but with his experience and consistency, he will be hoping to show some of the youngsters how it’s done.

Zakithi Nene

At the age of 27, Nene is certainly not new to the sport of athletics – he’s been around for some time – but he has enjoyed an incredible breakthrough season.
He led the national team to gold at the World Athletics Relays earlier this year and went on to set a personal best of 43.76 at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi, which remains the fastest time in the world this year.
After achieving podium places at three Diamond League meetings, he missed out on the final after picking up a hamstring injury.
Despite being sidelined from racing for a few weeks in the build-up, however, Nene seems confident of his chances. And based on how well he has run this year, he enters the World Championships as one of the SA team’s strongest medal prospects.

4x100m relay

After earning the silver medal at last year’s Olympics, and gold at the World Athletics Relays earlier this season, the national men’s sprint relay team will be eager to step on the podium again.

They will be without junior sensation Bayanda Walaza, who has been withdrawn from the World Championships due to a hamstring injury, which will leave a gap to fill on the crucial first leg.

However, they have a strong squad packed with experience, including anchor runner Akani Simbine, sub-10 athletes Gift Leotlela and Retshidisitswe Mlenga, as well as Bradley Nkoana, Sinesipho Dambile, Shaun Maswanganyi and Abduraghmaan Karriem.

The squad did not have relay camps before arriving in Tokyo, which they did before the Paris Olympics, and there has been a change in the national relay coaching structure, which could be an issue in terms of their preparation. But they certainly have the quality and depth to put up a fight.

4x400m relay

Another squad that earned gold at the World Relays, the 4x400m team is as packed as the 4x100m squad.

Zakithi Nene will anchor the team on the final leg, and he will have tremendous support from the likes of Lythe Pillay, Udeme Okon and junior star Leendert Koekemoer, who ran out of his socks to give Nene the baton in the lead at the World Relays.

In addition, though he is no longer among the quickest athletes on the planet, 400m world record holder Wayde van Niekerk has made himself available for the relay, and he’s in decent form. With his valuable experience, he gives the national relay coaches an extra option and should offer the team a real boost.

The 4x400m relay squad also has the services of Gardeo Isaacs and Mthi Mthimkulu if they need some back-up options.

Outside contenders

They won’t line up among the favourites, but there are some other athletes in the national team who are capable of stepping on the podium.

World indoor 800m champion Prudence Sekgodiso has been racing since February and in her last couple of events she has looked tired and out of sorts, but if she can find another gear and get back to something near her best, she has the ability to up a fight.

Long-distance runner Adriaan Wildschutt is fast and he’s a gutsy athlete who is never afraid to mix it with the big guns.

Wildschutt impressed in the final at last year’s Olympics, finishing 10th, and though he doesn’t quite have the leg speed of the East Africans, if he can stick with the leaders again he might give himself a chance in the men’s 10 000m final.

And experienced distance runner Elroy Gelant, who finished 11th in the Olympic marathon in Paris last year, will be hoping to chase a spot on the podium.

After setting a national record of 2:05:36 in Hamburg in April, he will have some extra confidence in Tokyo, and if he has another good run, he could be in the hunt in the closing stages of the 42km race.

* Featured image of Zakithi Nene by Cecilia van Bers