Hezekiel Sepeng says South African athletes still have room to improve

The Athletics South Africa (ASA) High Performance Manager says there have been encouraging performances in recent months, including strong results in the Diamond League and South Africa’s silver medals in the men’s 4x100m and 4x400m relays at the World Relays. 

However, Sepeng feels there is still plenty of work to be done before the athletes can be regarded among the very best in the world.

"I am not going to say that we are at our very best. We saw what happened last year. It is exactly what we are talking about: delivering when it matters, and when it matters, it is at the World Championships or the Olympic Games," said Sepeng.

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"So we have athletes; we just need to prioritise the competitions that the athletes will be participating in, and not just any competition for the sake of participating. So, at any given time, if all goes well at the championships, these athletes that I am talking about are capable of winning medals. It's only a matter of prioritization. Yes, I am happy with where we are, but we are not at the level where we want to be."

Sepeng, who has a World Athletics Continental Tour meeting named in his honour in Potchefstroom, says he wants to see more South African athletes consistently finishing on the podium at major international championships.

The former Olympic medallist believes success at events such as the World Championships and Olympic Games remains the ultimate measure of progress.

Despite calling for further improvement, the 1996 Olympic 800m silver medallist says the signs are positive and that South African athletes are moving in the right direction.

He adds that the performances delivered in recent months have been exciting and have given supporters plenty of reasons to be optimistic ahead of the World Championships in 2017.

With the international athletics season gathering momentum, Sepeng has noticed that South African athletes are competing regularly on both the track and road across the globe.