'I feel so good and proud of myself. I feel like I can cry' - Rogail Joseph through to Olympic 400mH semis

After starting out as a promising junior who claimed both the 400m and 100m hurdles title at the 2019 African U20 Championships, Rogail Josephs found the going tough in the senior ranks. Now 24 years old, Josephs is finally beginning to deliver on the considerable talent which was plain for the world to see when she progressed past the first round of the 400mH at the Olympic Games.

"I think the reason why my performances were up and down is because I changed coaches a lot," she said reflecting on 2021 and 2022 when she ran slower than she did as a teenager. "You see I moved from the Western Cape to the North West and I changed coaches twice in one year. So it interfered with my performance because not all coaches have the same programme. I changed because I was not happy with the coaches. That’s why my performances were not good," she explained.

Olympic debutante Jospehs secures safe passage to the semi-finals of the Women's 400mH after taking second place in her first round race. Photo Credit: Team SA (SASCOC Media).

But that all changed when she started training under renowned sprints coach Paul Gorries at the University of the North West. This year alone, the young lady from Worcester has improved on her personal best three times. In March she ran 55.39 to win the African Games title in Accra, Ghana. A month later as her family watched from the grandstand after making the long trip to Pietermaritzburg from the Cape, Josephs pushed Commonwealth Games bronze medalist Zeney Geldenhuys all the way to the line in a thrilling encounter at the ASA Senior Track and Field Championships and was rewarded with second place, a career best 54.84 and automatic Olympic qualification. 

But today’s run in the run in State de France tops them all. Needing to finish in the top three to secure safe passage in the semi-finals, the Olympic debutante produced another PB. Her 54.56 saw her take second place to proceed to the next round alongside Geldenhuys (54.73), Femke Bol and world record holder Sydney Mclaughlin. Jospehs says her coach and university must take the credit.

Geldenhuys and Jospehs to head-to-head in the final of the women's 400m hurdles at the 2024 ASA Senior Track & Field Championships. Photo Credit: Cecilia van Bers.

"Now I’m with a really good coach who knows his job. I got a bursary to the University of The North West so I moved to the North West Province because they are really looking after me well here. Remember that to be an athlete is expensive so they really invest in my performance and my athletics career."

But she must take some credit too because while her coach and broader support structures have ensured that she arrives in Paris fit and injury-free, her mentality is also different. Over the last nine months in particular, Jospehs has shown that when the gun goes, she is ready to give it her all. That mindset is the foundation of her 2024 success - and it looks like it's only the beginning. "I feel so good and proud of myself. I feel like I can cry. I feel like the best is yet to come and I’m so excited to see what’s in store for me. I know I’m on the right track so I’m there, I’m there…" she giggled.