Long jumpers Janice Josephs is the only woman in the modest five-member team, also including male athletes, world indoor silver medallist Mbulaeni Mulaudzi and long-jump colleague Khotso Mokoena, in South Africa’s three prong charge for medals at the IAAF World Indoor Championships, the three-day contest which gets underway in Valencia, Spain, on Friday.
The five member team is completed by team manager Ekkart Arbeit and physiotherapist Theo Calligeris, who jet out of the O. R. Tambo International Airport on Tuesday evening, and return on 10 March.
"As a silver medallist there will always be a lot of pressure on me to excel. My goal is to win a gold medal the way I did in 2004. Having qualified for the Olympic Games already and won my race in Oudtshoorn last week, I feel confident that I am competition fit, even though I have not competed on the indoor circuit this year," says Mulaudzi.
Long jumpers Mokoena (8.19) and Joseph (6.63) are in a decent shape having achieved the Olympic B standard. "We are taking people whom we believe have a good chance of winning a medal or at least progressing to the finals of their events," says ASA’s Development Manager, Molatelo Malehopo.
"It is best to send a few athletes who will deliver at these championships. It is unfortunate that Johan Cronje had to pull out of the team because of an injury as he is current on good form looking at his recent campaign in the indoors meetings."
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