The South African team returned in good spirits on Tuesday from the World Athletics Cross Country Championships held in Tallahassee, United States, over the weekend.
Adriaan Wildshutt, who achieved the best individual result in the 28-member squad, was satisfied with his performance after taking 13th place in the senior men's 10km race.
"I wanted to compete really hard for South Africa, and our team (in the senior men's contest) were able to place ninth, so that was great and hopefully we will be able to improve on that in the future," Wildschutt said.
"On a personal level I was happy with my performance. I wanted to be in the top 10 but it was my first World Cross Country Championships and it was a deep field. We ran hard from the start until the finish, and there's not much you can really do about that, but I'm still very happy about it."
Karabo More, who also made her debut at the global cross country championships, was equally pleased after running a superb second leg for the senior mixed relay quartet in the 4x2km contest. She joined Luan Munnik, Christopher Swart, and Carina Viljoen as they took sixth place, achieving the best team result by the South African squad.
"It was my first World Cross Country Championships, so I expected to run the way I did, and I'm really proud of the team for putting in the effort and the teamwork. It was great," More said.
John Mathane, the Athletics South Africa (ASA) acting president and head of delegation, congratulated the athletes for their overall performance in the five events that were contested.
"I'm very happy and excited about the team's performance in Tallahassee. Our team performed very well and showed their capability, integrity, and team spirit," Mathane said.
He was also full of praise for the host nation and the local organising committee for putting on a memorable edition of the World Athletics Cross Country Championships.
"In terms of percentage, I can give them 100 per cent for what they did, from the security side to hospitality and the competition facilities," Mathane said. "The people in that state (Florida) were excellent, including the World Athletics LOC. Everybody was waiting and ready for us."
Jakes Jacobs, chairperson of the ASA cross country commission, also credited the United States for its hospitality. Jacobs felt that some of the athletes in the national team had performed better than expected, while others had struggled to compete at their best against many of the world's top distance runners, but he believed they had gained valuable experience.
"I'm happy with the team's performance," Jacobs said after arriving at OR Tambo International. "The accommodation was good, the arrangements were good. Everything went smoothly. The athletes were happy, so I'm happy."