MICHAEL FINCH, Seville | Monday 10.00am.
SOUTH Africa’s marathon team manager, Francisco Andre, made no bones about his feelings on the timing of the men’s marathon on Saturday at the World Champs.
“It’s not just hot…it’s crazy hot,” Andre said of the race that will start at 6.45pm, slap bang in the middle of the hottest part of the day when temperatures nudge the 40 degree Celsius mark.
“I just hope for the sake of the athletes that nothing goes wrong, but I think it’s wrong to expose people to that type of situation.”
South Africa experienced similar conditions in Atlanta in 1996 when high humdity and equally high temperatures characterised each day. On that occasion, at least Olympic officials decided to run the race in the morning.
South Africa’s secretary general, Banele Sindani, however, distanced himself from Andre’s comments saying that ASA always supported the IAAF.
“We just want to make it clear that this is the opinion of the team manager and not of ASA,” Sindani pronounced.
The South African team arrived in Seville on Sunday after a training camp in Prieska in the Northern Cape where they trained in hot, high altitude conditions.
The team is led by Gert Thys, who earlier this year clocked the second fastest marathon of all time when he won the Tokyo Marathon in 2:06.33.
The remainder of the team includes Makhasonke Fika, Abner Chipu, Simon Mphulanyane and John Manyatse. Manyatse replaced national champion Frank Pooe two weeks after Pooe lost form during training. — MWP