Udeme Okon gears up for his first Senior World Relay Championships

The 19-year-old Florida High School learner from Roodepoort is widely regarded as the missing link in the relay squad.

Last year, the team claimed silver behind Botswana at the World Relay Championships in the Bahamas, securing an automatic Olympic qualification spot. Speaking to SABC Sport, Okon says they know exactly what to do to secure a medal.

"I mean I am obviously inexperienced; I haven't had a lot of experience. I competed at the World Juniors for the relay. My team was good, we got ourselves a medal and now obviously in the senior ranks, we have more experience with the guys,” Okon said.

“Guys that have been there know what to expect, obviously I'm gonna get there with my experience and you know put it in there and get what we have to get.”

READ: Bayanda Walaza determined to boost Team SA’s relay team performance in China

At just 17, Bayanda Walaza joined the 4x100m relay team and played a key role in securing a silver medal at the Paris Olympics, having also impressed during the qualification phase in the Bahamas the year before.

His performance continues to inspire his close friend, Okon, who is now preparing for his debut at the senior World Relay Championships.

"It's a very motivational story if we can say from Walaza, you know, still young and also we're both young. Like you said, we're coming for the seniors, and you know to come against them now, to run with them, we just wanna show them how hard we've been working in the junior ranks and now coming to the senior ranks. We also wanna do and perform to our best ability," he added.