South Africa’s 4x400m relay team set for World Indoor Championships as top seeds
Athletics
(From left) South Africa's Lythe Pillay, Zakithi Nene, Udeme Okon and Wayde Van Niekerk pose after finishing third in the men's 4x400m relay final during the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in September.
Image: Jewel Samad/AFP
South Africa’s 4x400m relay team is gearing up for the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Toruń, Poland, next month after a last-minute request to participate was accepted. The competition will form part of their build-up for the defence of their World Relays crown in Botswana.
Athletics South Africa (ASA) had expressed interest in sending the team to take part in the indoor competition with World Athletics earlier this month. The international body approved the request, confirming the SA 4x400m team as the No. 1 seeds ahead of the showpiece from March 22 to 24. The athletes were required to confirm their participation by Monday.
"Yes, we are sending the 4X400m men," ASA confirmed. "The main reason is we have a chance of winning a medal and it will also be good training in preparation for World Relays."
The onle-lap quartet of Gardeo Isaacs, Udeme Okon, Leendert Koekemoer and Zakithi Nene took gold at the World Athletics Relays in China last year. A slightly different combination – Lythe Pillay, Okon, Nene, and the legendary Wayde van Niekerk – then led SA to bronze at the World Championships in Tokyo – ending an eight-year medal drought at the showpiece.
The 4X100m men's relay team also won gold in China, and they are the reigning Olympic silver medallists.
All six one-lap sprinters have been included in a training squad that ASA announced for the World Relays, alongside Tumisang Shezi, Mthi Mthimkulu, and Antonie Matthys Nortje. The athletics federartion is yet to announce the final squad for the trip to Poland, however.
Nene was asked last week if he felt that the recent relay successes had led to an increased focus on the discipline.
"There definitley is the buy-in of our national federation, but more so I think it was the buy-in of the athletes that we've wanted for a number of years," he told Independend Media Sport at a training session in Durban. "I've always thought and always been a strong advocate for relays.
Akanis Simbine, Bradley Nkoana, Shaun Maswanganyi and Bayanda Walaza pose with their silver medals from the men's 4X100m relay final at the Paris Olympics.
Image: Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP
"I think before last year I always believed that my best chance of medalling will be in the relays as opposed to the individual events. So if we were all to come together and channel our efforts into the relays, we could achieve so much more than we would as individuals.
"Given the success of the 4X100 relay at the Olympics, and us at world champs last year, I think there's just so much to look forward. Given the depth of athlete that we have as well, there's just so much we can achieve in the relays."
The upcoming indoor championships mark a key milestone on South Africa’s relay calendar. The 4x400m team aims to translate last year’s global success into consistent performances, while building momentum for back-to-back international challenges in 2026.