The Kings Park Athletics Stadium in Durban will be the scene of the crowning of old and new champions, when the Yellow Pages SA Senior Track and Field Championships takes place in the east coast city this Saturday and Sunday.
SA's world championship 800 metres gold medallist Caster Semenya will pull on the Gauteng North vest in a bid to regain top spot in the two-lapper, after a temporary absence from domestic track and field last season.
While LJ van Zyl may have one hand on the R200 000 Yellow Pages Pot of Gold cheque after setting a national senior best of 47.66 secs in the 400 metres hurdles in Tshwane in February, he will want to set the record straight and get the gold medal in Durban.
Such a victory will wipe away Van Zyl's disappointment of having been disqualified in last year's 400 metres hurdles final at the Yellow Pages senior national showpiece event in Durban - a race in which Boland's Cornel Fredericks took the main prize in 49.70.
National 3000 metres steeplechase record-holder Tebogo Masehla is one of several athletes who could well force Van Zyl to share the R200 000 Yellow Pages Pot of Gold incentive. The women's national mark stands at 9 min 55.11 secs and could well be under threat if the conditions play along.
Stephen Mokoka had to think long and hard about when the last time was that he failed to win a track race.
But the no-nonsense Gauteng North runner will have to push the pace like never before, if he is to challenge Hendrick Ramaala's national senior best of 27;29.94. Expect Van Zyl to be watching this and other events closely, as he safeguards his stake in the Yellow Pages Pot of Gold as much as possible.
Lionel Smith, Trudon: GM: Marketing (Publishers of Yellow Pages) said: "To be No 1 in your country is the ultimate aim of an athlete and as a proud sponsor of athletics, Yellow Pages is delighted to play a role in creating the platform for athletics excellence."
Tickets for the Yellow Pages SA Senior Track and Field Championships will be R20 and they can be purchased at the stadium gates. The first 700 fans to enter the venues will each receive a complimentary Yellow Pages sporty hat.
