'Sepeng has acknowledged his mistakes'

Hezekiel Sepeng, South Africa's most experienced international athlete, is now also the enfant terrible of the sport.

The 29-year-old national 800m record holder, who burst on to the global scene as a 17-year-old, has been branded a "rogue" and reluctantly included in the team for the ninth IAAF World Championships in Athletics, taking place in Paris from August 23-31.

As punishment for past "indiscretions", the Board of Athletics South Africa (ASA) wanted him excluded.

"The Board had to labour on this point, as they felt strongly that Sepeng should not go," said ASA chief executive Banele Sindani of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and 1999 Seville world championships silver medallist.

Counting in the Potchefstroom star's favour, however, was the fact that if he doesn't go to these championships, he will be ineligible for the 2004 Athens Olympics, which could be his third and final Olympiad.

"The Board have had a lot of running battles with Hezekiel in the past," added Sindani. "It has been a long game of hide-and-seek.

"But if he has learnt his lessons, as he says he has, we hope he has learnt them well."

Sepeng, who lost gold by 0,02 seconds to Danish world record holder Wilson Kipketer at the Seville worlds, had his last tussle with the authorities prior to the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games.

He failed to join the team as arranged from his Amsterdam base and was booted off the squad.

That was the culmination of a torrid period of Sepeng's life - a time when he had just switched coaches and returned to hometown Potchefstroom from the bright lights of Johannesburg - and he had even considered quitting the sport.

But he has come back strongly and is now challenging the young pretender to his title as national No 1, his close friend Mbulaeni Mulaudzi.

Sepeng was not included in the provisional squad for Paris as he had failed to fulfil the qualifying criteria by missing several key domestic meetings.

"But Sepeng has acknowledged all his past mistakes and asked to be pardoned," said Sindani.

The athlete was "reprimanded and given a final warning".