{"id":23441,"date":"2026-02-07T11:50:20","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T09:50:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jhb-webdevelopers\/channelafrica\/news\/asa-names-32-member-preparation-squad-for-world-relay-championships\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T16:34:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T14:34:14","slug":"asa-names-32-member-preparation-squad-for-world-relay-championships","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/asa-names-32-member-preparation-squad-for-world-relay-championships\/","title":{"rendered":"ASA names 32\u2011member preparation squad for World Relay Championships"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The squad comprises 19 men and 13 women across the 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The announcement comes as SA looks to build on a highly successful outing at the 2025 World Senior Relay Championships in Guangzhou, China, where the national teams secured three medals, gold in the men\u2019s 4x100m and 4x400m relays, and bronze in the women\u2019s 4x400m.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">ASA said athletes will be invited to a series of training camps with their respective coaches ahead of the global event. The move follows repeated calls from senior athletes for improved relay structures and more consistent preparation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Sprinter Akani Simbine, a key figure in SA\u2019s relay success, has often spoken about the potential within the relay squads. He believes that regular training camps could unlock stronger performances.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u201cThere is so much potential in the relay teams, and with more investment and training camps, athletes will grow in confidence, both within the team environment and in their individual events,\u201d he told SABC Sport.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">World and Olympic 400m record holder Wayde van Niekerk, who helped secure bronze in the men\u2019s 4x400m at the World Championships in Tokyo last year, reiterated his ongoing commitment to the relay setup despite stepping away from competing individually over 400m.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u201cI am not saying SA is <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">relaying<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> just to win a medal, but investment in the relay teams will bring success,\u201d he said. \u201cThe future is bright; we have young athletes coming through <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">and<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> a strong culture is developing. The more the investment, the better the results.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Sprinter Gift Leotlela, who missed the Tokyo World Championships due to injury, said he is focused on earning his place back in the 4x100m team and helping SA chase more silverware.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Leotlela joins a strong sprint relay group featuring:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Akani Simbine<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Karabo Letebele, who recently secured a bursary to study in the United States<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Bayanda Walaza, returning from injury<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Shaun Maswanganyi<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Tsebo Matsoso<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Retshidisitswe Mulenga<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Abduraghmaan Karriem<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">SA\u2019s silver medal in the men\u2019s 4x100m at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games has significantly boosted confidence and transformed the relay culture, with high expectations ahead of the Gaborone championships.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">With medals, depth, and renewed investment, South Africa enters the 2026 relay season with growing momentum. The training\u2011camp approach marks a strategic shift aimed at ensuring stability, teamwork, and peak performance at major championships.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The final team for the World Relay Championships will be selected following the <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">preparation<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> phase.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8211;SABCSport\/ChannelAfrica&#8211;<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":23442,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[20],"class_list":["post-23441","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-sport","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Athletics South Africa (SA) has announced a 32\u2011member preparation squad for the World Relay Championships, set to take place in Gaborone, Botswana, from May 2\u20133.","published_date":null,"news_description":"Athletics South Africa (SA) has announced a 32\u2011member preparation squad for the World Relay Championships, set to take place in Gaborone, Botswana, from May 2\u20133.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/23441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/23441\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26408,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/23441\/revisions\/26408"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=23441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}