IN THE NEWS
South African Athletes Making Headlines – BY REGGIE HUFKIE
Louisa Clinches Fast Spar Cape Town
Louisa Leballo ( Nedbank ) sprinted to victory in the first leg of the Spar Women ’ s Challenge in Cape Town on 2 April , clocking a personal best 32:55 to just beat Kesa Molotsane of KPMG by a second , as the runner-up also clocked a new PB . Coming home third was 2016 Spar Grand Prix winner Irvette van Zyl ( Nedbank ) in 34:04 , and other highlights included master Judy Bird ( KPMG ) setting a new Western Province Open Record of 38:43 , while greatgrandmaster Veronica van Niekerk ( Elgin Grabouw ) clocked a new SA record of 49:38 , beating her own record by 10 seconds .
Youngsters Shine at Junior Champs
Simonay Weitsz bagged three gold medals at the ASA Youth & Junior Championships , held at the Greenpoint Stadium in Cape Town on 7-8 April . Despite gusty conditions on day one , she managed to clock an impressive 4:27 in the 1500m , then added an astonishing 2:06.96 in the 800m and 9:58.31 in the 3000m . The new South African junior 100m record holder Gift Leotlela , also caught the eye with a world-class 20.28 victory in the men ’ s u / 20 200m final on day two . Another show-stopper was Shanley Koekemoer , who cruised to a new South African record of 6:42.48 in the girls ’ u / 18 2000m steeplechase .
Local Hero Clinches Two Oceans
Olympic marathoner Lungile Gongqa won the 2017 Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon on 15 April , becoming the first Capetonian to win the race since Don Hartley in 1973 ! His time of 3:09:43 was enough to outpace Lesotho ’ s Warinyane Lebopo ( 3:10:21 ). In the women ’ s race , Maryna Damantsevich of Belorus cruised to a maiden Two Oceans win in 3:37:13 , but South African eyes were focused on Durbanite Jenna Challenor , who smiled her way through much of the race to clinch the runner-up position in 3:47:32 . In the accompanying half marathon , Namakoe Nkhasi ( 1:03:15 ) and Irvette van Zyl ( 1:13:53 ) both successfully defended their titles .
Sprinters Thrill Crowd at SA Champs
The incredible rise of SA sprinting continued apace at the ASA Senior Championships on 21-22 April in Potchefstroom , with Akani Simbine and Carina Horn leading the way as they cruised to world-class 100m times of 9.95 and 11.11 respectively . Akani claimed the 100m title by beating Olympic 400m champ Wayde van Niekerk , but Carina unfortunately had to withdraw from the women ’ s final , while Alyssa Conley defended both her 100m and 200m titles comfortably in 11.41 and 22.94 . Meanwhile , 400m hurldes Olympian Leroux Hamman dethroned LJ van Zyl in a tight final that saw the top three hurdlers all dip under the magical 50-second barrier .
More world-class performances followed , with 400m World Record holder Wayde van Niekerk winning the men ’ s 200m final in a world-leading time of 19.90 . Orazio Cremona ( men ’ s shot-put ) dominated with a mighty 21.12m heave , while Rikenette Steenkamp ( women ’ s 100m hurdles ) edged closer to the SA record with a new PB 13.02 time . In the men ’ s long jump , Olympic silver medallist Luvo Manyonga bettered his own African and SA Record of 8.62m with a jump of 8.65m . Two-time Olympic gold medallist Caster Semenya did the 400m-800m double , with impressive times of 51.60 and 2:01.03 . Another highlight was Chris Moleya bagging gold in the men ’ s high Jump with a winning jump of 2.25m .
Middle distance specialists Rantso Mokopane , Dumisani Hlaselo and Simonay Weitsz also delivered exceptional championship performances . Rantso cruised to an impressive victory in 8:34 in the men ’ s 3000m steeplechase , Dumisani stole the show with his 3:41 victory in the men ’ s 1500m , and SA Junior Champ Simonay shocked all-comers with her 4:21 victory in the senior women ’ s 1500m final . In the men ’ s 800m final , Rynardt van Rensburg finally claimed a national title with a 1:46 effort , having finished third in 2012 and second in the next four years !
Chris Harmse sets World Record !
Another highlight of the SA Champs saw hammer throw legend Chris Harmse set a new World Record when he won his 22 nd consecutive national title , making him the only track and field athlete in the world to achieve this feat – and he did it with a mighty final throw to clinch the gold medal !
SA Race Walkers on the Rise
Also in April , Lebogang Shange walked to a third place finish at the IAAF Race Walking Challenge in Taicing , China , clocking 1:23:45 for 20km and a podium position . Back home , Wayne Snyman cruised to a 1:25:50 victory at the ASA Senior Championships in Potchefstroom , making him the second-fastest South African 20km race walker at altitude . Meanwhile , the women ’ s title was claimed by Anel Oostuizen , who celebrated her 22 nd birthday on the 22 nd of April by securing her fifth consecutive national title in 1:38:53 . She also recently equalled her SA 20km Record while competing in Europe .
Images : Reg Caldecott , Jetline Action Photo & courtesy athletes
10 ISSUE 94 MAY 2017 / www . modernathlete . co . za