Posted: May 6, 2004

Athletics: Sepeng Left Off RSA Olympic Team

From David Monti

(c) 2004 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com

By Riel Hauman

In a shock move, Athletics South Africa has left former Olympic silver medalist and national record holder Hezekiel Sepeng out of its provisional team for the Athens Olympics. Citing Sepeng's “continuing disregard for ASA's rules and regulations”, ASA CEO Banele Sindani said the ASA Board had no other option than to leave the recently crowned national 800-metre champion out of the Athens squad.

“The Board feels that in the past they have bent backwards to accommodate Sepeng's ill-discipline, with the hope that he would turn over a new leaf,” Sindani said in a statement. “The Board has no doubt that with this latest violation of ASA's rules, it (the Board) has been tested to the limit, and cannot bend backwards any further.”

Other top athletes who have qualified but are not included are 6-metre pole vaulter Okkert Brits and the brilliant junior triple jumper Khotso Mokoena. But included is hammer thrower Chris Harmse, who has been left out of the last few teams to the Olympics or global championships because he does not compete on Sunday. The hammer throw final in Athens will be on a Sunday, so Harmse will not take part if he qualifies.

Sindani said that all the athletes in the team except World Indoor 800-metre champion Mbulaeni Mulaudzi and discus thrower Hannes Hopley qualified at the recent Olympic Trials in Durban. All athletes who wanted to be considered for selection had to take part in at least two Absa Series meets during the domestic season.

“The Board considered the fact that Mulaudzi's domestic season was interrupted by his sojourn in the European indoor circuit, which culminated in him achieving a gold medal at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Hungary,” Sindani said.

Mulaudzi competed in only one meet in the series, the one in Pretoria. Sindani said Hopley’s studies in the USA make it impossible for him to compete in the domestic season.

Sepeng has claimed that he did not understand the selction criteria correctly. Sindani was harsh in his views on the matter: "The Board considered Sepeng's case very carefully. In doing this, the Board noted that, in a similar manner, Sepeng violated ASA's selection criteria for the World Championships in France last year. ASA condoned Sepeng's actions then, but called a press conference to issue a public, and final warning to Sepeng.

“The public warning was aimed at drawing the South African public's attention to the serious difficulty ASA were having with Sepeng's continuing disregard for ASA's rules and regulations.

“The Board felt that not taking action against Sepeng this time round would amount to neglegt of duty on the Board's part, and it would be grossly unfair for all the other athletes who religiously abide by all ASA's rules and regulations, and that would be a recipe for disaster.”

The public warning issued in July last year stated: “Hezekiel Sepeng chose not to compete in any Engen Grand Prix Series meet in 2003, this in violation of paragraph 3.4(b) of ASA's Team Selection Criteria for the above-mentioned championships which states that: ‘Athletes who wish to be considered for selection onto the Final Team (to the above-mentioned championships) should compete in the following events in the 2003 ASA Track and Field Competition Programme:
‘a) The ABSA S.A. Senior Track and Field Championships
‘b) One Engen Grand Prix Series meet (if invited)
‘c) One ABSA Permit Series meet (if invited)

‘The Executive Board of ASA (the Board) noted with great concern that Mr Sepeng was also embroiled in a similar controversy when he missed the Commonwealth Games in Manchester in 2002, and the Board saw this as aggravating circumstances for Mr Sepeng.

‘Because of all this the Board was of the strong mind that Mr Sepeng should be left out of the above-mentioned team, but they (the Board) were persuaded otherwise when considering the positive contribution Mr Sepeng has made to the advancement of athletics, not only in our country, but throughout the world.

‘Mr Sepeng has since acknowledge all his past mistakes, and asked to be pardoned. The Board has not found it difficult to pardon Mr Sepeng, but they (the Board) would like to strongly reprimand Mr Sepeng, and to make him aware that this is the final warning they are giving him.”

Sindani said Sepeng was the only athlete to have claimed that he did not understand the selection criteria.

The provisional team for Athens is: MEN – Alwyn Myburgh (400 H), Chris Harmse (HT), Frantz Kruger (DT), Gerhardus Pienaar (JT), Hannes Hopley (DT), Janus Robberts (SP), Leigh Julius (200), Marcus la Grange (400), Mbulaeni Mulaudzi (800), Ockert Cilliers (400 H), Ruben Ramolefi (3000 SC), Shaun Bownes (110 H), Gert Thys (marathon), Hendrick Ramaala (marathon), Ian Syster (marathon). WOMEN – Elizna Naude (DT), Geraldine Pillay (100), Heide Seyerling (200, 400), Hestrie Cloete (HJ), Janice Josephs (Hept), Nicolene Cronje (20 km W), Sunette Viljoen (JT), Surita Febbraio (400 H).

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