JOHANNESBURG – The year following the Olympic Games is traditionally somewhat of a dud as athletes take a well-deserved break from four years of sacrificing blood, sweat and tears to reach their goals.
The Rio Olympics produced all the fireworks, so from a South African perspective, it will be interesting to see how the country’s top talent perform in its aftermath.
For some, like Olympic gold medallist Chad le Clos, this year offers an opportunity to make amends for the 2015 Fina World Championships and the Rio Games after conceding his 200m butterfly titles.
It will be interesting to see whether fellow swimming medallist Cameron van der Burgh has any answers to British phenomenon Adam Peaty, who is seemingly in a class of his own.
One can only hope that the new generation of South African swimmers, and in particular female talent, come to the fore this year.
The weight of expectation will be on others like world record holder Wayde van Niekerk, who will not only defend his 400m title but possibly look to add the half-lap sprint to his repertoire at the IAAF World Championships in London.
Van Niekerk announced himself to the world two years ago when he raced to victory in Beijing, and became the heir apparent to the sprinting throne when he smashed the 400m world record at last year’s Olympics.
The South African sprinter’s potential is so mouth-wateringly awesome that any race he lines up in could produce something spectacular.
We can look forward to more short sprint races which will include the 100m and 200m, while he could also become the first man to break through the 43-second barrier over the one-lap event. While he has been coy about the prospect of racing the 200/400 double at the world championships, the defence of his crown is likely to take precedence.
South Africa’s other gold medallist from the Rio Games, Caster Semenya, was a dominant force in 2016, and the trend is likely to continue. The question whether she will be racing a double – the 400/800 or the 800/1 500 – will again be a pertinent one in the build-up to the world championships.
Semenya has made a habit of breaking barriers, and we can expect more of the same in 2017 as she looks to break through 50 seconds in the 400m and dip below four minutes in the 1 500m.
Olympic long jump silver medallist Luvo Manyonga has vowed to continue climbing on the international stage and taking aim at Mike Powell’s dust-gathering world record from 1991.
Finally getting her hands on Olympic silverware on her fourth attempt, javelin queen Sunette Viljoen will be looking to upgrade her two world bronze medals to silver or a global title as she winds down her illustrious career.
Winning the triathlon bronze medal in Rio before finishing his breakthrough year with gold at the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final has fuelled Henri Schoeman’s appetite for more global success.
While Schoeman went from strength to strength, the gritty Richard Murray recovered from a broken collarbone to finish fourth at the Games.
Keep an eye out for Murray this year as he looks to make up for that “lost” medal, while Wian Sullwald is also set to make his presence felt on the international scene.
Settling for the men’s pair silver medal courtesy of Lawrence Brittain and Shaun Keeling, the South African rowing team did not perform to its potential at the Rio Games.
With some of the country’s rowing stalwarts contemplating retirement, the new crop should be in action at the World Rowing Championships in Florida, offering an idea for what the future holds for one of the country’s most successful sporting codes.