Leendert Koekemoer reflects on first international Team SA experience

Koekemoer played a key role in qualifying one of South Africa’s three relay teams to the World Athletics Championships, as they went on to earn gold in the Men’s 4x400m relay final at the World Relay Championships in China last weekend.

The 17-year-old, who is set to be the youngest athlete among the relay contingent in Tokyo later this year, credited the senior athletes with helping him adjust quickly during his first-ever international competition.

"The experience was very good, it was my first time, like officially, out of the country, and all the senior guys here helped me and made jokes with me, and invited me in," Koekemoer told SABC Sport. 

"They didn't look at me like I'm a little kid, but they brought me in and helped me with the changeovers, and if I don't know how to do something, they help me with that. So I feel it was a really great experience, and it was very nice to be there."

The junior national 400m champion described the event as a mental challenge that he had to conquer in order to find his place on the team and perform at his best.

"For me, what was crucial was to keep my head in the game – I feel like 400m is a very mental race, and you must know that the lactic [acid] is going to come at the end, so I think, if your mind is right, you can run fast," he added.

"At the end of the day, I don't think I went out to the relay to run a fast time necessarily. I think I just wanted to get the baton first to Zak [Nene], and it was just for the team to get a medal.

"So the time came by itself, and I didn't even realise until the end, when someone told me what I split, so yeah."

READ: How SASCOC supports success of SA relay teams