Sprinter

Anaso Jobodwana’s goal at the London Olympics was to better his 200m time and reach the semifinal. He ended up running his best time of 20.27 and reaching the final, no mean feat considering that the 19-year-old had no plans to feature in London. He did show Olympic potential in 2010 when he won the South African Schools 200m title but when 2011 turned out to be an injury-filled year he turned his focus to Rio 2016 instead. His two outstanding times in 2012 saw the Eastern Cape athlete qualify for his first Olympics. Jobodwana, who is now based at Jackson State University in Mississippi, is currently ranked number 10 in the world and is a member of the Sascoc Operation Excellence programme, which supports 48 leading athletes financially and logistically ahead of the 2016 Olympics. Watch out Rio, here comes South Africa’s own lightning bolt.

— Fatima Asmal

Website: sascoc.co.za