As South Africa’s top athletes prepare for their performances at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, they will use the upcoming 2016 African Championships as a training ground to hone their athletic abilities.
The 20th CAA African Senior Athletics Championships will take place in Durban, South Africa between 22 and 26 June, providing the African teams will an excellent platform for testing themselves ahead of Rio 2016, while ensuring that they continue preparations ahead of the global multi-sport event.
The host nation will have a strong contingent in the coastal city of Durban, boasting a 96-person team of athletes at the competition, according to AthleticsAfrica.
The selection of 52 men and 44 women athletes is one of the largest ever to represent South Africa at the championships.
The likes of 2009 World 800m champion Caster Semenya, defending African Javelin champion Sunette Viljoen and top 100m sprinter Akani Simbine are some of the Olympians who will be using the competition as preparation for the summer games in August.
The most anticipated athlete who will be competing at the event is South African Wayde van Niekerk. The 400m world record holder made history in March by earning a sprinting record that no man has previously held.
He became the first man ever to run a combination of sprinting races under specific elite athlete times, with the 100m under 10 seconds, the 200m under 20 seconds and the 400m in under 44 seconds.
Van Niekerk will only compete in the men’s 200m sprint and the relays at next week’s championships.
The 2016 African Championships will serve as the final opportunity for those not already qualified to earn a place on the Olympic team.
So there will most certainly be athletes who are giving their all in Durban, in the hopes that they will secure a place amongst the TeamSA athletes.
Sport24 reports that Athletics South Africa will propose a final team for the Olympic Games in Rio to the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee after the Championships on June 29.
The final team will then be announced according to the selection principles upheld by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee.
