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+---- Thread: Team off to the World Championships (/Thread-Team-off-to-the-World-Championships)
Team off to the World Championships - Newsroom - 21-08-2011
The first athletes of the senior team left earlier today for the World Championships taking place in Daegu, Korea from 27 August ââ¬â 4 September 2011.
This relatively young team, with an average age of 24, will represent South Africa at the Championships and gain experience for 2012 and beyond. Young athletes such as 400m hurdles athlete Cornel Fredericks and the long jumper Luvo Manyonga will definitely look up to the more experienced athletes like LJ Van Zyl, Khotso Mokoena (long jump), Robert Oosthuizen (javelin), Ofentse Mogawane (4x400m) and Sunette Viljoen(javelin) for guidance as they all have a lot of experience. Mokoena in particular is in high spirits. "I am once again the underdog; I thrive on being the underdog, so I am looking forward to the World Championships. My coach Hansie Coetzee is also coming along. I have had some problems with my run up in the last two meetings, which is why having Hansie there is a great help. But I am in great shape and really looking forward to the Championships."
Viljoen has just successfully defended her World Student Games title with a throw of 66.47m which places her 4th in the World and LJ Van Zyl is ranked number one in the World in the 400m hurdles.
Robert Oosthuizen was also in confident mood. ââ¬ÅMy first priority is to get into the finals, then I will look for a throw of around 84m or beyond, but I am not nervous. I know the guys all very well and they are all dangerous, but I will focus on me and my performance.ââ¬Â
Some of the athletes are currently participating at the Student Championships in China and will join the team shortly thereafter in Deagu. These athletes include Willem de Beer(4x400m), Hannes Dreyer (4x100m), Simon Magakwe(100m), Stephen Mokoka (10 000m), Thuso Mpuang (100m), Justine Robbeson (javelin), Thumelo Thagane (triple jump), Shane Victor(4x400m) and Wenda Theron (400m hurdles).
More athletes will continue joining the team throughout the week. The spirit amongst the team was infectious before boarding and they are all looking forward to represent South Africa at the World Championships and developing their skills for future teams.