Only once in the history of South African athletics has two sprinters managed to dip under ten seconds in the 100 metres during the same race, but this statistic might change tomorrow afternoon during the South African Senior Athletics Championships in Germiston.

Weather permitting the main protagonists in this duel to laying claim to the bragging rights of being South Africa’s fastest man ought to be the two Tuks sprinters, Emile Erasmus and Thando Roto, as well as South Africa’s first ever sub ten sprinter, Simon Magakwe. 

Magakwe already proved he is in good form clocking 10.06s earlier this season in Cape Town while Erasmus ran a time of 10.15s during the Grand Prix-meeting in Bloemfontein. In his only race for the season, Roto stopped the clock at 10.27s.

It was Roto and Akani Simbine who made local athletics history in 2017 racing Tuks. Simbine won the 100m in 9.92s with Roto finishing second in 9.95s. 

Roto will be the first to admit that he has battled to find the same form that saw him becoming only South Africa’s fifth sub-ten second sprinter. However, it was not due to a lack of commitment. Time and again as he was hoping to be ready to challenge the stopwatch seriously he was slowed down by untimely injuries.

According to him, that is one of the reasons why he and the Grigora head coach, Hennie Kriel, decided to curtail his season last year drastically.

“We had no choice to do so. For the last few months, I have worked on conditioning my body to withstand all the challenges that go with trying to push one to the absolute limits. I think we might have succeeded. My training has really gone well. I can feel there is a good race in my legs. However, it remains to be seen whether it is going to be tomorrow.

“I will never allow myself to be obsessed with running a specific time in a specific race. All that matters is to execute the perfect race."

“I would not have minded having raced a few more times this season but not having done so is not the end of the world. I proved in the past that I was capable of running fast times without a lot of racing. In 2017 I ran 10.17s in my first race. Last year I opened my season with 10.18s.”

Last year in July during the La Chaux-de-Fonds Meeting in Switzerland Erasmus ran a time of 10.01s proving that he could be South Africa’s next sub ten seconds sprinter. Only five local sprinters have been able to do so. However, the Tuks sprinter is a realist.

“My coach, Frans van Rooyen, and I never speak about times. The only thing that matters is that I get to execute my technique to perfection and that I keep on working to become faster and stronger. If I do, fast times will happen.”