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Emotional Sekgodiso breezes into Olympic 800m final─── MORGAN PIEK 07:41 Mon, 05 Aug 2024
“I don’t want to say much, I just want to go to my coach and cry with him. Through all of the hard work we have been putting in, I’m just excited. It really means a lot – I’ve just made it to the final and that’s huge.”
There is a new track and field star in the making for South Africa at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, and there may well be another medal on the cards on Monday night.
On Sunday night the 22-year-old Prudence Sekgodiso qualified for the final in the women’s 800m after comfortably finishing second in her heat.
Sekgodiso ran a sublime time of 1:57.26 to finish behind the favourite Keely Hodgkinson of Great Britain who ran 1:56.86 in Heat 3.
Prudence Sekgodiso. Picture: X
The only other athlete to run faster than Sekgodiso was Tsige Duguma of Ethiopia who ran a PB in 1:57.47. While Sekgodiso slacked off in the last bit of her heat, it was enough to ensure the South African the third-fastest time overall going into the final.
An emotional Sekgodiso said reaching the final means the world to her.
“I’m just emotional and I don’t want to say anything,” said the 22-year-old. “I don’t want to say much, I just want to go to my coach and cry with him. Through all of the hard work we have been putting in, I’m just excited. It really means a lot – I’ve just made it to the final and that’s huge.”
South Africa has a rich history regarding the 800m at the Olympics, especially in the women’s race, after the great Caster Semenya won the gold twice, in London in 2012 and Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
Monday night’s big final will get underway at 21:47.
