Athletics South Africa President Aleck Skhosana says he has received numerous messages from aggrieved athletes over their omission from the country’s team for the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games ©Global Athletics Conference/YouTube

Athletics South Africa (ASA) President Aleck Skhosana says he has received numerous messages from aggrieved athletes over their omission from the country's team for the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Only 13 track and field athletes were included in the South Africa squad, which was announced by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) on Tuesday (January 30).

It includes the likes of two-time Olympic gold medallist Caster Semenya, who will attempt to win gold over 800 metres and 1,500m at the Games, as well as Luvo Manyonga, the world champion and Olympic silver medallist in the long jump, and two-time Commonwealth Games gold medal-winning javelin thrower Sunette Viljoen.

But notable names such as Khotso Mokoena and Cornel Fredericks, the reigning Commonwealth champions in the triple jump and 400m hurdles respectively, have been left out.

According to Sowetan Live, SASCOC has argued that they had not made the required top 10 in the Commonwealth rankings following the closure of the qualifying window on December 31.

Other leading athletes who failed to make the cut were long-distance runners Stephen Mokoka and Mapaseka Makhanya. 

Sowetan Live has seen a list of 24 track and field athletes that the ASA sent to SASCOC.

"We submitted a list to SASCOC that we believe were suitable, but it is not our prerogative when it came down to the final team," Skhosana was reported as saying by Sowetan Live.

He added: "My e-mail is flooded with [messages from] disgruntled coaches and athletes, but I told them it's not the end of the road.

"We still have the IAAF [International Association of Athletics Federations] World Indoor Championships, the World Cup and the African Championships coming up."

Khotso Mokoena, who won triple jump gold at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, is among the athletes to have missed out on a place in South Africa's team for Gold Coast 2018 ©Getty Images
Khotso Mokoena, who won triple jump gold at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, is among the athletes to have missed out on a place in South Africa's team for Gold Coast 2018 ©Getty Images

It was announced in November that this year's ASA Senior Championships had been re-scheduled to take place before Gold Coast 2018, following a call from coaches.

The Championships in Tshwane had been provisionally due to be held after Gold Coast 2018, scheduled to run from April 4 to 15.

But they were brought forward to March 15 to 17 with Skhosana insisting athletes can use them primarily as a springboard for the Commonwealth Games.

Skhosana claims coaches made an informed request to rearrange the Championships during a symposium in Bloemfontein in September.

In all, South African athletes will compete across 16 sports at Gold Coast 2018 - athletics, badminton, bowls, boxing, mountain biking, road cycling, track cycling, gymnastics, hockey, netball, rugby sevens, shooting, table tennis, triathlon, weightlifting and wrestling - and five Para-sports - athletics, lawn bowls, swimming, table tennis and powerlifting.

They will be looking to improve on their country's performance at Glasgow 2014, where a seventh-place finish was secured with a total medal count of 40 - 13 gold, 10 silver and 17 bronze.

Nine of South Africa's medals came in athletics, including three golds.

The nation also excelled in swimming, winning 12 medals, including three golds, and lawn bowls, winning seven medals, including five golds.

Wayde van Niekerk, the current Olympic and world champion and world record holder over 400m, is a stand-out omission from the squad after sustaining a knee injury during a celebrity touch rugby match in October.