Jan Hoffman of RSA in action in the Boys' Shot Put qualification at the World Youth Championships (© Getty Images)
Athletics South Africa announced that it will send a team of 31 athletes to participate in the IAAF World Junior Championships in Beijing, China, from 15-20 August.
The team, consisting of 23 men and 8 women, has been selected after the provisional squad participated in the recent Zone 6 Games in Windhoek and the Southern Region Junior Championships in Mauritius.
South Africa finished sixth on the medals table at the 2004 IAAF World Junior Championships in Grosseto, Italy with 2 gold and 4 silver medals.
Last year the South African team also finished sixth on the medals table at the IAAF World Youth Championships in Marrakech, Morocco, with three gold, one silver and one bronze medal. These medal winners are all included in the team and will be amongst the favourites to bring home medals from Beijing.
South Africa’s hopes for a medal will mainly feature on the field events where JP Hoffmann, winner of the gold medal in the Shot Put last year in Marrakech, will go all out to annex another gold in this event.
Noel Meyer, winner of the gold in the javelin in Marrakech, and Robert Oosthuizen, who represented South Africa with distinction at this year’s Commonwealth Games, can both end up in the medals in the javelin, while Simone du Toit can win gold medals in both the shot put and discus for women.
Jan Masenamela, promising 800m runner, won a bronze medal in Marrakech and can again finish in the first three.
At her best Nombulelo Mkenku can surprise in the women’s sprints, while the men’s 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams can also bring home a medal.
The team will already depart on 6 August for Beijing to allow them enough time to acclimatize. They will return again on 22 August.
South African Team
Men
Dayne Le Kay (100m, 4x100m)
Duncan Mclean (100m, 4x100m)
Tshegofatso Meshoe (200m, 4x100m)
Kagisho Kumbane (200m, 4x100m)
Alvin Samuels (400m, 4x400m)
Pieter Smith (400m, 4x400m)
Dirk Gouws (800m)
Jan Masenamela (800m)
Tshamano Setone (1500m)
Lehann Fourie (110mH)
Louw Smith (110mH)
Juan Bloem (400mH)
Wiekus Jonck (400mH)
Edwin Molepo (3000m SC)
Keenan Watson (Long Jump)
Robert Oosthuizen (Javelin Throw)
Noel Meyer (Javelin Throw)
JP Hoffman (Shot Put)
Nico Grobler (Shot Put)
Leroux van Tonder (4x100m)
Wilhelm van der Vyfer (4x100m) Ruaan Grobler (4x400m)
Willie de Beer (4x400m)
Women
Nombulele Nkenku (100, 200m, 4x100m)
Wenda Theron (100m, 200m, 4x100m)
Arista Hefer (400m, 4x100m)
Angela Wagner (800m)
Dastiny Tities (3000m SC)
Erika Kleinhans (100mH, 4x100m)
Simone du Toit (Shot Put, Discus)
Claudine Jansen van Rensburg (4x100m)
Athletics South Africa for the IAAF
