Athletics
Mokoena leads SA underdogs
2010-03-11 21:31
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Khotso Mokoena (Gallo Images)
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Johannesburg - Despite two athletes breaking multiple national records this season, and the fact that they will be led by the men’s long jump defending champion, the five-member South African team will do well to get on the medal table at the World Indoor Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar this weekend.
Khotso Mokoena has picked up medals at global championships for three years running, and was remarkably consistent in 2009, but a leg injury has hampered his build-up to the event.
The Olympic and world outdoor silver medallist has not jumped indoors at all this season, and has only two outdoor meetings behind him - an 8.22m victory aided by a 5.7m wind in Durban a fortnight back and a 7.93m win in Potchefstroom last week.
And while he said earlier this week he believes he can compete for a medal, he’s up against it at the three-day global indoor championships which start on Friday.
Four of the 28 athletes on the start list have leaped further than Mokoena’s 8.18m national indoor record this season and Mokoena will have to be near his best form to beat the likes of Panama’s Irving Saladino.and Frenchman Salim Sdiri.
Nonetheless, Mokoena remains South Africa’s best chance for a medal -although Juan van Deventer will line up in the men’s 1 500m with an outside hope of stepping on the podium.
Van Deventer has had a tremendous debut season. He set a South African record in the metric mile (3:37.25) in Dusseldorf last month and four days later broke the national 3 000m mark with a 7:49.91 effort in Moscow. A week later he further improved his 1 500m best by 0.29 seconds in Gent.
The Olympic finalist is ranked 10th in the world this year and will be confident of reaching the final in Doha against a field headlined by Kenyan Haron Keitany and Ethiopian Deresse Mekonnen.
Fellow distance runner Rene Kalmer has also been in fine form this season, setting national women’s records over 3 000m, running 9:02.92 in Stuttgart last month, and 5 000m, clocking 15:45.40 in Stockholm four days later.
The versatile 29-year-old, however, faces a stiff challenge over 3 000m in Doha. Only Viktoriia Poiludina of Kyrgystan holds a personal best slower than Kalmer’s in the world class 22-strong field led by Ethiopian world record holder Meseret Defar and Ethiopia’s Sentayehu Ejigu.
Janice Josephs has never been shy on confidence, but her outdoor best this season (8.32m) is better only than Sri Lanka’s Priyadharshani Nawanage in the women‘s long jump field.
With no indoor performances behind her in 2010, Josephs might struggle to make the final again, after achieving that in Valencia two years ago, in a line-up that includes some the world’s best. The former heptathlete will face the likes of Russian Tatyana Kotova, Purtugal’s Naide Gomes, and Brittney Reese of the US.
Peter Van der Westhuizen will also struggle to get through his 1 500m heat, with only two athletes in the 27-man field having recorded slower season’s bests than the South African’s 3:42.38 in Birmingham last month.
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