Khotso Mokoena
The 8th edition of the World Indoor Championships will be taking place in Istanbul, Turkey from 9-11 March 2012, with South Africa sending a team of four to the championships, Elroy Gelant (3000m), Khotso Mokoena (Long Jump) , Lehann Fourie (60mh)and Burger Lamprechts (Shot Put) have been selected for the Indoor Championships.
Lamprechts used the last opportunity available to qualify when he sent the Shot Put to 20.12m at the first Yellow Pages Interprovincial on Saturday 25 February. He will make one more appearance locally at the second Yellow Pages Interprovincial on 3 March before the big event in Istanbul. The qualifying distance in the men’s shot put is 20m.
Elroy Gelant will be competing in the 3000m in Istanbul after qualifying in Metz on 27 June 2011 when he ran a 7:41.59 personal best. “I am ready for the World Indoor Championships as I am very prepared. ,” said Gelant about his prospects, going on to say he was aiming for a top 8 finish.
Lehann Fourie is the fourth and final team member and will compete in the 60m hurdles. He reached the indoor qualifying time of 7.74sec on three occasions this year, in Birmingham on 13 January 7.72sec), a personal best in Boston (7.64sec, 4 February) and then again on 11 February in New York when he came 4th in 7.65sec, just 1/100th of a second slower than his previous race.
The qualifying distance for the men’s long jump is 8.15m, a feat Khotso Mokoena achieved that on 5 different occasions in 2011 at outdoor events. See below events and distances:
| 26 March 2011 | Yellow Pages Germiston | 8.17m |
| 8 April 2011 | Yellow Pages Senior Championships | 8.29m |
| 4 June 2011 | Eugene | 8.31m & 8.19m |
| 8 July 2011 | Saint-Denis | 8.25m |
The qualifying period for the World Indoor Championships was from 1st January 2011 to 27th February 2012.
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