The one-time favourite son of South African athletics, Hezekiel Sepeng, has been excluded from the national team for the world championships, signalling that the curtain may be coming down on his illustrious career.
Despite having previously achieved the Athletics South Africa (ASA) standard Sepeng was excluded from the provisional 19-person team selected to appear in Paris from August 23 to 31.
The ASA’s elite coaches coordinating committee who presided over the selection said simply that Sepeng had not fulfilled his quota of appearances on the domestic circuit.
The 28-year-old Potchefstroom- based Atlanta Olympic and World Championship 800m silver medalist only made two appearances on home soil this year — at the Absa meet in Germiston, where he won the 1 000m race, and the Potchefstroom leg, where he ran the 3 000m.
”Hezekiel has not met all our criteria, although he has run the qualifying standard. I don’t know if he will be selected at a later stage, it depends on the selectors and what happens between now and then,” explained ASA CEO Banele Sindani.
His coach, Jean Verster, said the problem started when Sepeng was unfairly disqualified from the World Indoor Champs for stepping on the dividing line, even though there was no video evidence.
”He came back very negative and I gave him two weeks off … I even got Maria Mutola to come and talk to him before the Durban leg of the Engen Summer Series, to lift his spirits. This didn’t work and I had a blood sample taken.
”The tests revealed that he was low in magnesium, we withdrew him from the Durban race and refocused on the SA Champs. He then picked up flu after a rainy training session. ASA requested a doctor’s certificate, which we supplied, and we did not think further of it.
”When the team was announced we were most surprised, however Hezekiel has spoken to Banele, who was sympathetic to his cause, but rules are rules and there are no hard feelings,” Verster said.
If Sepeng performs well in the run-up to Paris he could still be considered for the team, said Verster, ”but if he is excluded from the team we will still pursue our original goal of a gold medal at next years Athens Olympic Games”.