Distance runners will be targeting places in the national team for the World Athletics Road Running Championships when they compete over three distances at the ASA Road Running Championships in Gqeberha on Saturday, to be held in conjunction with the Nelson Mandela Bay Half-Marathon.
The annual national championships will serve as the SA trials for the global championships taking place in Copenhagen, Denmark, between 19-20 September.
In Gqeberha, the top two men and women will be automatically selected for the national 21km team, provided they achieve the qualifying standard (1:03:50 for men and 1:13:50 for women) during the qualifying window which opened on 1 January and closes on 20 July.
At this stage, according to the official World Athletics ranking lists, four men (Adriaan Wildschutt, Thabang Mosiako, Adam Lipschitz and Elroy Gelant) and one woman (Glenrose Xaba) have run the required qualifying time, though more athletes are expected to achieve the marks on the fast, flat course in Gqeberha.
Over the 5km distance, the top man and woman will receive automatic selection to the SA team, as long as they achieve the qualifying standards (13:50 for men and 15:59 for women on the track or the road) during the qualifying period.
Currently, a total of 13 athletes (nine men and four women) have met the required standards in this distance.
And in the 1 mile (1.6km event) the top man and woman will also be automatically selected for the World Championships if they dip under the qualifying standards (3:41:00 over 1500m or 3:59:00 over the mile for men, and 4:18:00 over 1500m or 4:37:00 for women) during the window period.
At this stage, 16 athletes (five men and 11 women) have met the required standard in the mile.
Aside from those athletes who achieve automatic selection in Gqeberha, ASA will also consider athletes who have achieved the qualifying standard, based on their World Athletics rankings, for the national team to compete at the World Championships.
Athletics South Africa will also allow the selection panel to use their discretion to fill spots in the SA team, based on head-to-head results, fitness, readiness and ability to perform under pressure.