The Member of the Mayoral Committee for Community Development in the City of Johannesburg, Cllr Margaret Arnolds, spent some time at the Roodepoort Athletics Stadium to watch elite athletes in their endeavour to qualify for the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, this week.
“Working with stakeholders allows the city to contribute to athlete’s development and excellence. The City’s relationship with Central Gauteng Athletics and Athletics South Africa has created favourable conditions for athletes to prepare for the Olympic Games,” said MMC Arnolds.
SA and Commonwealth champion Akani Simbine outshone his competitors in the men’s 100m sprint. Though he was pushed slightly by a +2.1m/s tailwind, just outside the legal limit of +2.0m/s for an official time, Simbine did well to open his 2021 season with an unofficial 10.00s. His best time in March 2020 was 9.91s.
Amantle Montsho, the former world champion, dominated the women’s 400m race in 53.78s, closely tailed by the young Oratile Nowe clocking 53.99s. Both athletes are from Botswana.
In the women’s javelin throw, SA’s best and African record holder, Sunette Viljoen smoothly produced a
58.00m throw.
Spectators were not allowed and sadly the accustomed vibrancy at the stadium was lost. Athletes were on their own without usual encouragement of hand clap pacing, shouting and flag waving as the seats were empty. All these happened to ensure compliance to Covid-19 regulations. However, the athletes did their best to bring on their best performance to qualify for the Tokyo Olympic.
The president of Athletics South Africa Aleck Skhosana, Pinkie Wilson, the general manager of Botswana Athletics Association, and Hezekiél Sepeng, the 1996 silver Olympic 800m medallist, were among those who watched athletes’ performance with keen interest.
“The second leg of ASA Athletix Invitational Meet will be on Tuesday, 30 March 2021, at Roodepoort Athletics Stadium. The organisers are putting all the necessary measures to ensure safety at the stadium,” said the Director of Sport and Recreation in the City of Johannesburg Siyanda Mnukwa.
Picture by Tobias Ginsberg
25/03/2021