Wayde van Niekerk will not be part of 4x400m relay team when Team SA compete in Friday morning’s 1.37am Heat 2 at the Olympic Games.
According to a TimesLive report, SA sprint coach Paul Gorries confirmed that when he finalised his 4x100m quarter for last night’s heats as they look to make Friday’s 5.50pm final.
Van Niekerk failed to successfully retain his 400m Olympic title, after being eliminated in Monday’s semifinals following a build-up of injury setbacks.
But it was reported that Van Niekerk was ready to consider taking part in the 4x100m race, joining Akani Simbine, Shaun Maswanganyi and Clarence Munyai.
But Gorries Wednesday said that the 400m world record holder and only man in history with a sub-10s 100m, sub-20s 200m and sub-43s 400m won’t race.
Instead, Cheswill Johnson is set to join the 4x100m team as they look to replicate the form that won the World Relays gold in May.
In the 4x400m, SA champion Zakithi Nene, Ranti Dikgale, Thapelo Phora and Lythe Pillay will compete.
There was more disappointment for SA in Wednesday’s as Rocco van Rooyen failed to make the javelin final, managing a 77.41m throw to finish 13th.
In the women’s climbing competition, Erin Sterkenburg missed out on the eight-competitor final as she finished last in a 20-strong field.
On the cycling track, Charlene du Preez was 0.351 too slow to progress from the keirin repechage, while Jean Spies missed the cut for the men’s sprint final.