Llewellyn Herbert, silver medallist in the 400m hurdles at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, is well on his way to recovery after a bad reaction to a course of anti-malaria tablets for the recent African Athletics Championships in Brazzaville.
Herbert was back to his colourful self among a small contingent of South African Olympians who modelled the team’s formal and casual uniforms at Nocsa House in Johannesburg on Wednesday — and he gave the thumbs-up to both the kit and his reaction to his treatment.
The livewire Pretoria athlete, who shot into strong form for the Athens Olympics on the European circuit, suddenly hit a brick wall at an IAAF Golden League meeting at Paris Saint-Denis last Friday night. He finished last in a listless 51,48 seconds and left quickly for Pretoria so that National Olympic Committee of South Africa doctors could sort him out.
”No problems,” he said on Wednesday. ”I’m sure I’ll be 100% by the time I compete in Athens.”
Manager Peet van Zyl said that Herbert had to finish the anti-malaria course, but doctors had put him on a different form of medication that had reacted well with him.
”It’s a huge relief because he was in a bad way,” said Van Zyl. ”His blood tests returned yesterday [Tuesday] and the only problem now is that he has a slight iron deficiency. That’s been sorted out as well.”
Other athletes who had been to Brazzaville had complained about similar symptoms to those suffered by Herbert.
Van Zyl said that South Africa’s other medal hopeful, 800m runner Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, is also on the right track to hitting peak form in Athens.
The IAAF’s top-ranked and world indoor 800m champion finished second in one minute and 45,65 seconds at the Karelia Games in Lappeenranta, Finland, on Sunday, signalling a remarkable recovery from a foot injury and an illness last month.
Mulaudzi had bad luck at last Friday’s Golden League meeting in Paris Saint-Denis where he fell at the start and failed to finish, but he bounced back on Sunday to show he means business in Athens.
Herbert, Mulaudzi and world high-jump champion Jacques Freitag have had their injuries sorted out by applied kinesiologist Ron Holder, who has been working with Freitag during his preparations in Pretoria.
Those athletes who are not competing abroad will leave with the Olympic team for Athens next Tuesday. — Sapa