Athletics
Mokoena will lead Indoor team
2012-03-01 12:44
Johannesburg - Former long jump champion Khotso Mokoena will spearhead a four-man SA team to the World Indoor Athletics Championships in Istanbul, Turkey, in March.
Distance runner Elroy Gelant, high hurdler Lehann Fourie and shot put stalwart Burger Lambrechts were also included in the team named on Thursday.
Mokoena won the world indoor title in Valencia in 2008 and bagged silver in Doha two years ago.
Having reached the standard of 8.15 metres five times during the qualifying period, he will hope to build some form ahead of the London Olympics after a relatively disappointing outdoor season in 2011.
Lambrechts, 38, used the last available opportunity to qualify when he heaved a distance of 20.12m at the first Yellow Pages Interprovincial meeting in Germiston on Saturday.
Gelant, meanwhile, qualified with an outdoor personal best of 7:41.59 in Metz in June 2011 in his breakthrough season.
Fourie reached the indoor qualifying time of 7.74 seconds on three occasions this year, including a personal best of 7.64 in Boston in February.