After hosting a superb second leg of the ASA Athletics Grand Prix Series, a World Athletics Continental Tour Challenger at Greenpoint Athletics Stadium in Cape Town on Wednesday 23 March 2022, the following is what athletes had to say.

Caster Semenya:  women’s 3000m winner (08:54:97)

It is always great to see your people when you come to the track show appreciation and I had to reward them with an impressive performance. I will return for the national championships next month and I will run the 5000m and am prepared for any weather conditions on the day. If the World Championships qualification happens, it will be great and running a sub 9 in the 3000m shows that I can do it in the 5000m. 

My goal is to show up for my people and I love athletics. It will be great if I qualify for the World Championships, but currently the goal is qualifying for the African Championships.  There is no challenge for me in the 5000m (here), so I challenge myself to do better. It was a challenge at first and I got used to it. My results always make me happy, and I cannot go according to other people’s expectations.

Antonio Alkana: Men’s 110m hurdles winner 

There was a little bit of pressure with the crowd screaming like that for me, but they pushed me to go for a win. I do not think it was the usual Cape Town wind as it was too strong. It took a while for me to get into my rhythm and the win is welcome. I felt more wind in the end when I jumped the last hurdle. Hopefully, I will run the third leg in Potchefstroom. Another race before the national championships would be ideal preparation for me.

Benjamin Richardson: Men’s 200m winner (21.08)

It feels good to win, but it is not the time that I was hoping for in the race. I was hoping for a sub-21, but the wind made things difficult for me. It was hard, but luckily, I held out for a photo-finish win. I want to push for a fast time in the 100m and 200m to qualify for the world juniors later this year in Colombia. I ran in the junior championships to win, and I ran in the seniors to contest and get a fast time. I want to dominate my event in the junior champs. Even though I am young at 20, I want to run at the senior national championships and give the seniors a run for their money. 

Prudence Sekgodiso: Women’s 1500m winner (04:20.03)

Yoh! I am that girl, who always leads but I let the others go because of the wind and I knew I would push in the last lap.  I ran against fast girls, and I preferred the 800m, but I won the 1500m. I am excited because I ran a personal best. I ran the 1500m and 800m races in Tshwane, and I am happy with my progress. My coach (Samuel Sepeng) is an inspiration and I love working with him. He supports and motivates me, and we train together as I am the only girl in our training group. We run together and push each other in training.

Tshepo Tshite: men’s 1500m winner (03:36:09)

The focus was not about beating Ryan Mphahlele and I knew I would run under 3:40. I wanted a fast race, and I was not worried about Ryan. I didn’t want to chase him, and I knew that I would finish faster.  I surprised myself with the winning time and I thought I would run 3:38. I was happy to see my coach celebrating the win.  I doubled with 800m and 1500m at the Athletics Gauteng North Championships and I ran 3:40 in the 1500m. My focus is on endurance, and I would like to run 1:43 in the 800m as part of my plan for the season. My season opener was 1:45:07.  

Socks Zazini: men’s 400m hurdles winner (0:49.66)

I am happy with the win. The wind was strong, and it messed up with my patterns. I was relaxed and in control of the race and could hear them coming. I focused on getting to the finish line first and was proud of my run. I am excited and looking forward to the season. I can handle the pressure and I would have run a faster time without the wind. I opened my season with a 49.02 at the Athletics Gauteng North championships and I am happy with my progress.

Zeney van der Walt: women’s 400m hurdles winner (0:56.01)

I am happy with my time despite the challenge from the wind and I could feel it push against me. It was in front and behind me and it was tough to win this race. It altered how I jumped the hurdles, and I did not expect the time to be that fast because of the wind. The competition was good, and they pushed me hard.

Glenrose Xaba: women’s 3000m third place (09:12:51)

It was a good race, and the competition was tight. I train with Caster, and she is also my coach, and I did this to help her in the 3000m. It was part of my preparations for the 10 000m at the national champs and I prefer longer distances like 21km. Caster, as my coach, understands my body and knows how to handle my programme. She is back and if she stays focused, and believes in herself, she will qualify for the World Championships in the USA in July in the 5000m.

Mbuleli Mathanga: men’s 5000m winner (14:06:01)

I am happy with my time despite the strong wind. I decided to break away after 3km and ran against good runners. I ran in the 5000m twice in Durban and was happy with how things worked out in Cape Town, and I will run the 5000m and 10 000m in the national championships and do 21km at the Two Oceans.

Ruan de Vries: men’s 400m hurdles second place (14.08)

I am not used to running in the wind and I come from Tshwane, so it was difficult for me. Antonio trains in the wind every day and he is used to it. It was one of those days and our rivalry in the last couple of years has always been a one-two finish. He is a good guy and the last time I beat him was in 2019. I am 36 years old, and I keep ongoing. I do not have injuries and I have no intentions of retiring. I will see him again at the national champs.

Breyton Poole – men’s high jump third place (2.10m)

I am happy to be back, and I enjoyed the support of my home crowd. I would like to thank ASA for hosting this meeting and getting us back on track. I am not satisfied as I had an average performance, finishing in third place. I battled injury and hope to recover in time before the national senior championships here in Cape Town. I ‘m used to the Cape wind and I have adjusted to it. I am light and the wind takes me with it. My priority is to qualify for the Commonwealth Games and to do a top-two finish at the national champs

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