CAPE TOWN - South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) athletics manager Hezekiel Sepeng on Thursday said LJ van Zyl should slot in comfortably into the 4x400 metre relay team.
The team will run in the final at 10:20PM on Friday night despite crashing out after one of the runners was tripped in a qualifying heat and did not finish the race.
Sascoc won the appeal on the basis that a Kenyan athlete obstructed Ofentse Mogawane.
Mogawane fell and dislocated his shoulder, and the team did not finish the race with Oscar Pistorius and Willem de Beer not getting to run.
Sepeng said van Zyl will replace Mogawane.
“LJ was part of the relay from the beginning. He ran the hurdles. We think he’s the best substitute for the injured athlete.”
Meanwhile, South African 400 metres record holder Arnaud Malherbe made it clear he was not pleased with the decision to appeal.
“What if this happened in the final? You can’t reinstate somebody to a medal so can you really reinstate them into a final?”
The 4x400 metre team athletes, who came second at the World Championships last year, are considered medal hopefuls.
(Edited by Lindiwe Mlandu)