I’m not in Rio form yet - Samaai
The long jump final at the Rio Olympics is exactly a month away, but Ruswahl Samaai is not even thinking of it yet.
|||The long jump final at the Rio Olympics is exactly a month away, but Ruswahl Samaai is not even thinking of it yet.
Samaai is a realistic medal hope for Team South Africa and will spearhead the three-strong long jump group in Brazil, with Luvo Manyonga and Stefan Brits his likely teammates when Sascoc names the final Olympic group on Thursday in Johannesburg.
And the competition for a piece of silverware is going to be fierce. Just 10 days ago, American Jarrion Lawson jumped a new world-leading distance of 8.58m in the US Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon. His previous had been 8.34m, so he is suddenly now one of the favourites for gold in Rio.
American champion Jeff Henderson jumped a wind-assisted 8.59m to win the trials, with others at the top of the world list being Marquise Goodwin (8.45m) and Marquis Dendy (8.42m) of the United States, as well as Sweden’s Michel Torneus (8.44m).
Samaai is ranked fifth in the world at the moment with a personal best of 8.38m, but is not thinking too far ahead, and is getting ready for Friday’s Diamond League meeting in Monaco.
The Paarl athlete is one of five South Africans taking part in the principality, along with 400m world champion Wayde van Niekerk, 800m star Caster Semenya, world championship javelin bronze medallist Sunette Viljoen and middle-distance runner Dominique Scott in the 3 000m.
“To be honest, I have absolutely nothing to do with others’ performance. I don’t care about what they jump, even if they jump a new world record. I am here to improve myself every time I step on to that field. It’s very good to see others perform, and it motivates me in so many respects,” Samaai told Independent Media from his European base in Gemona, Italy on Wednesday.
“It really gives me butterflies to see how other jumpers are performing, but at the end of the day, I do what’s the best for me and my coach finds different ways to improve every time. My work is not finished yet.
“Like I’ve said before, my focus is not yet on Rio. I first want to get other things behind me, like competitions, and then I will focus on Rio.”
Samaai won the African Championship in Durban in late June with a wind-assisted leap of 8.40m, which would’ve been a new personal best. But despite that success, he feels that he is far from his best, and is hoping to show improvement on Friday in Monaco.
The 24-year-old will face some tough competition in the shape of Australian Fabrice Lapierre, America’s Michael Hartfield and Xinglong Gao of China, all of whom have jumped beyond 8.20m this year.
“Top form? I am not yet in form as there are still many things to do. It feels as if I haven’t even competed the whole season. But I am feeling good,” Samaai said.
“I haven’t set out what kind of distance I can jump on Friday. I will let my performance speak for itself and I’m looking forward to the Monaco Diamond League. At the moment, I don’t have any feelings about Monaco. Maybe it will kick in tomorrow or Friday. I feel good, but I first want to get the travelling out of my system and get out there.”
ashfak.mohamed@inl.co.za
@IndyCapeSport - Independent Media