The South African team finally broke the nation’s medal drought at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo which came to a thrilling close on Sunday.
Entering the final session of the showpiece, the SA team had no medals to show for their efforts, but the men’s 4x400m relay squad – Lythe Pillay, Udeme Okon, Wayde van Niekerk and Zakithi Nene – delivered in spectacular fashion.
Though they ultimately finished third in 2:57.83, they were given the same official time as the United States, who took second place after finishing just 0.002 (two thousandths of a second) clear of the SA quartet in second place.
And they were just 0.07 behind gold medallists Botswana, who completed the four-lap race in 2:57.76 to become the first African team to win the 4x400m title at the global championships.
Aside from the four men who competed in the final, Gardeo Isaacs and junior sprinter Leendert Koekemoer also stepped on the podium after forming part of the national relay team that won their first-round heat.
Increased depth in SA team
While they earned the SA squad’s only medal in Tokyo, which was the nation’s first at the World Championships in eight years, there were other positives that could be taken from the team’s overall performance at the nine-day World Championships, particularly in terms of depth.
At the last edition of the World Championships, in Budapest in 2023, only one South African athlete finished in the top eight in an individual final, with Wayde van Niekerk taking seventh place in the men’s 400m event. The men’s 4x100m squad also ran in the final but did not finish.
In Tokyo, five SA athletes finished among the top eight in their individual events.
Jo-Ane du Plessis was fourth in the women’s javelin throw, Zakithi Nene took fifth place in the men’s 400m sprint, Gift Leotlela (fifth) and Akani Simbine (seventh) both contested the men’s 100m final, and Sinesipho Dambile finished eighth in the men’s 200m event.
And, aside from the men’s 4x400m team, the mixed 4x400m relay squad also reached the final, ending sixth.
So, despite analysts and fans hoping for more in terms of medals, it was a step forward for the South African team, and if the sport continues to make progress this could convert into more track and field medals at the 2027 World Championships in Beijing and the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
* Featured image of the SA 4x400m relay team by Erin Groll
