Posted: July 23, 2004

Athletics: South Africa Releases Olympic Team

From David Monti

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

By Riel Hauman

Gert Thys, the world's fourth fastest marathoner of 2004, Hendrick Ramaala and Ian Syster are the only long distance runners included in the South African team for the Olympic Games in Athens. There are 32 athletes in the team.

Thys won the Seoul International Marathon earlier this year in 2:07:06 and holds the RSA record with 2:06:33, which makes him the tenth fastest marathon runner of all time. Syster, who failed to finish the Flora London Marathon in April, has a personal best of 2:07:06 run in London in 2002. He is second on the RSA all-time list and the reigning national champion, since no RSA Marathon has been held since he won the title in his marathon debut in 2001. Ramaala scored the first marathon victory of his career in the Mumbai Marathon in February (2:15:47) and has a PB of 2:08:58 (London 2003).

No runners were selected for either the 5000 or 10,000 metres. The middle distance athletes in the team are: Mbulaeni Mulaudzi (800, PB 1:42.89), Hezekiel Sepeng (800, 1:42.69), Johan Cronje (1500, 3:37.28) and Ruben Ramolefi (steeplechase, 8:25.59). Cronje was selected ahead of Clyde Colenso, whose 3:37.16 is the fastest by a South African this year.