Athletics South Africa boss James Moloi defends Team SA’s World Champs failures

Moloi maintained a low profile and refrained from sharing his views on the team’s disappointing performance in the last three consecutive World Championships – Doha 2019, Oregon 2021, and most recently in Budapest.

In an exclusive interview with SABC Sport, Moloi appealed for patience from the South African public, while emphasising that he is strategising the restoration of national pride and turn the tide of their recent disappointment on the international stage.

"What I want to say to the country, let's not lose hope at the present moment. What happened there is something that we can rectify but like I said, please be patient with athletics. Be patient with us and then we will do our level best in terms of increasing the number of athletes, even in the Olympics that are still coming, anything can happen during that time," Moloi said.

"So, let's just maybe give these athletes an opportunity to prove themselves in the Olympics but on top of that going forward we will be adding more athletes and up & coming athletes that will be adding the number. 

Please be patient with us but we will do our level best to correct the situation going forward in terms of adding the numbers of new, up and coming athletes. Even the seniors will be there for us to try to prove themselves."

Moloi staunchly defended Team SA’s recent shortcomings by explaining that ASA is currently in the midst of a rebuilding phase and placing their hopes instead on the Under-20 team, which remarkably secured 33 medals during the African Youth Championships in Lusaka.

"But that one I can defend because it's very easy to defend that because don't forget we have been in Lusaka. What is important is that I think our base must be very strong. I even today, our base must be solid.

So, for that team that brought 33 medals is our future team. So, it's a build-up team and then don't forget, most of our athletes have been running. Some of those athletes have been running before, we must just maybe think about them to say they've done their level best, they've been there before.

Now we need more athletes that are going to join them and be there. They will be led by them but we need provinces to say 'Our provinces must produce talent and we have more athletes'.

But like I said the team that was there, the under 18 and the under 20 is our basic team that is going to take us for about six years going forward. So, it's like we've done our basics now in that our athletes, the senior athletes have done their part but still they are going to be around let's have more athletes that are going to be there with them."