We can proudly say that athletics is back, says ASA boss James Moloi on TV deal with SuperSport

Cape Town – After years of South African athletics fans having to search far and wide for live action, they will now be able to watch their favourites on SuperSport.

The pay channel and Athletics South Africa announced a four-year broadcast deal on Thursday, which will see many of the major local championships and races being televised on SuperSport.

The national track and field championship, ASA Grand Prix and long-distance events such as the Comrades Marathon will be broadcast live on the SuperSport channels, starting this month already.

Over the past few years, local athletics was not featured much on TV, with only the odd big event such as the Comrades Marathon being shown on SABC.

Despite boasting some top international athletes such as Wayde van Niekerk, Akani Simbine, Caster Semenya, Kyle Blignaut and Gerda Steyn, fans have had to resort to streaming options on Facebook and other platforms from ASA and provincial federations to catch a glimpse of their heroes.

But now they will be able to tune on TV, and also catch highlights in what is a big season for the sport, with the world championships and Commonwealth Games later this year.

“Excitement does not even begin to describe our overwhelming feeling,” ASA president James Moloi said on Thursday.

“With this package deal, we can proudly say that athletics is back. We will now feel comfortable knowing that we are deservedly equal to the other leading national federations in the country.

“So, today ASA is on top of the moon, and we thank SuperSport for sharing our foresight. We believe with this deal the interests of the athletics family are fully served. Every one of our stakeholders will now receive coverage.

“This means our juniors, youth, tertiary, primary and high