SA 800m star Prudence Sekgodiso says she expected a medal, but not the gold

New world indoor 800m champion Prudence Sekgodiso returned home on Tuesday, saying she had expected to win a medal in China but not the gold.

Sekgodiso — who won the women’s 800m in a 1 min 58.40 sec national record that was also the fastest time on the 200m short track in the world this year — jetted home with sprinter Akani Simbine, the 60m bronze medallist.

“I knew I was going to [win a] medal, but the gold medal came as a shock,” Sekgodiso told a press conference at the airport, adding her victory had motivated her before the outdoor season.

The main international competition this year is the world championships in Tokyo in September.

“I think when it comes to outdoors, I’m going to do better. The plan is to run 1 min 55 sec by the end of this year,” said the

23-year-old. 

That sort of time would almost certainly guarantee her a podium finish in Japan.

“I feel if we do the same thing that me and my coach are doing now, I think we will [win a] medal as well in Tokyo.”

Sekgodiso’s outdoor personal best is 1:57.26, though she admitted in the long-term she was eyeing Caster Semenya’s 1:54.25 national record.

Having her coach Samuel Sepeng with her in China had helped a lot.

“I feel like whenever my coach is around me I feel good. All the instructions he gives me I follow,” added Sekgodiso, a finalist at the Paris Olympics in 2024.

Meanwhile, Akani Simbine said his reason for doing the 60m was to improve elements of his start for the 100m, his main event.

“I think because we didn’t come with expectations, for us that was important. It was more trying to figure things out and that is something we came into the competition with, the mindset of figuring things out here.

“It’s crazy that at my age and my experience in the game, I’m still trying to figure things out.

“That we came into it like that, I think that also helped to take off the pressure of wanting to get a medal,” said Simbine, who had never made the podium of an individual event at a global meeting. 

“We’re just coming into the thing of trying to figure things out, and yes, we have.”

The 31-year-old pointed out that the 60m and 100m were different beasts.

“With the 100m, it’s a process. You run very fast, but you take your time through your phases.

“With the 60m, it’s given us a different view of how we should start or how we should go through our accelerations and how we should clean up,” said Simbine, a slower starter than his main rivals, but who possesses one of the fastest top-end speeds of any sprinter in the world.

“We’re not trying to change my running pattern because changing my running pattern to adjust for 60m can affect my last part — and that last part is my strongest point.

“So it’s just about getting a few points up in the first 60m so that I don’t sacrifice the last part of my race.”