Sport

Jododwana disappoints, says it was horrible

Date: Aug 17, 2016

Anaso Jobodwana's failure to qualify for the men's 200-meter semifinals will raise questions about the athletic squad selection.

He was one of the athletes expected to deliver a medal for the country despite not being in competitive action in 2016.

His selection was based on his performance at the World Championships where he came third in the final.

After four days of podium finishes, the following two days have come and gone and South Africa has not added more silverware to the seven medal tally.

Besides the medals, the country's athletes have failed to reach finals.

Expectation was that Day 11 would see Jobodwana qualify for the 200-meter semifinals but he admits he has run poorly.

“Horrible! It stinks! (I have) never been in this position before; not make it at least to the semifinal. In training, I felt good and ready. (I) felt I was my old self, but race rhythm is a different thing.”

Jobodwana came into the Olympics as a serious medal contender, especially after going toe-to-toe with Usain Bolt in the 200 in London four years ago and after clocking a time of 19.87 at the World Championships in Beijing in 2015.

    Medal hopefuls remaining are Caster Semenya in the 800 meters and Sunet Viljoen in the javelin

Despite injuries keeping him out of action, Jobdwana only made the Olympic squad because of the form he had shown at the World Championships.

He laments, "I guess I was just being too optimistic and I probably should have sat out and given to someone who was ready and I’m going to kick myself for that. It would have been much better to give it to someone who would have a chance to medal for South Africa.”

Medal hopefuls remaining are Caster Semenya in the 800 meters and Sunet Viljoen in the javelin.

Werda Nel and LJ Van Zyl failed to make it to the final of the 400 meters for women and men, respectively.

Meanwhile, David Rudisha of Kenya defended his 800m crown and became the first man to achieve that feat since Peter Snel in 1964.Rudisha, who was impressed by Wayde Van Niekerk's record-breaking performance, gave his thoughts on the 24-year-old South African athlete.

“We were staying in the same apartment as the South Africans and most of the African teams and we really stood up. Everybody was cheering in the room … it’s one of my greatest to watch in Rio 2016. It was just amazing.”

South Africa's junior sprinters, Clarence Munyai and Gift Leotlela, could not qualify further from their 200-meter heats. However, they are grateful for the exposure and experience they gained from these games.

--sabc--

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