NEWS
I n t h e
Compiled by Reggie Hufkie
More SA Indoor Records
Last month we reported on seven new SA Indoor Records , and since then another two were set . On 14 February , long jumper Luvo Manyonga stretched his still new SA Record from 8:32m to 8:40m , and he subsequently jumped even further at the World Indoor Champs ( see below ). Meanwhile , Carina Horn took a hundredth of a second off her new record of 7.10 seconds for 60m , clocking 7.09 just two days later .
Big Win for Lebo in Mexico
Having finished fourth in the men ’ s 20km race walk at last year ’ s World Champs in London , Lebogang Shange proved that he ’ s very much a 2018 Commonwealth Games medal contender when he won the 20km at the Memorial Jerzy Hausleber Meeting in Monterrey , Mexico , on 24 February . He clocked 1:24:32 to win by 27 seconds over Mexico ’ s Carlos Sanchez .
Weiss takes back XTERRA SA Title
XERRA World Champion Bradley Weiss reclaimed his Fedhealth XTERRA South African Championship title in Elgin- Grabouw on 24 February , winning in an impressive time of 2:28:55 , ahead of Michael Lord ( 2:35:14 ). In 2017 he lost the title to Olympian Richard Murray after suffering a double puncture during the bike leg . Another repeat winner was Carina Wasle of Austria , who claimed her third XTERRA SA title in 2:51:43 , with youngster Hayley Preen finishing second in 3:04:59 . ( Just two weeks later , Bradley won the MiWayLife Durban Ultra on 4 March , showing that he can mix it with the best on the road as well .)
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Another Podium for Ernst
Veteran Paralympian Ernst van Dyk finished third in the men ’ s wheelchair race at the Tokyo Marathon on 25 February , clocking 1:31:30 . The multiple Big City Marathon wheelchair champion did remarkably well after picking up a stomach virus while travelling to Japan .
Relay Team Added to Commonwealth Team
On 26 February , SASCOC announced the late addition of a men ’ s 4x100m relay squad and three more athletes to the track and field team for the Commonwealth Games in Australia in April . Former South African 100m record holder Henricho Bruintjies and the in-shape Anaso Jobodwana will spearhead the relay team , along with Emile Erasmus and Clarence Munyai . Meanwhile , Stephen Mokoka ( 10,000m ) and field athletes Jaco Engelbrecht ( shot put ) and Tshepang Makhethe ( hammer throw ), will also be going to Australia .
ISSUE 105 APRIL 2018 / www . modernathlete . co . za
Silver for Luvo at World Indoors
Fresh on the heels of his 2016 Olympic silver and 2017 World Champs gold , long jumper Luvo Manyonga added a silver medal in the World Indoor Champs in Birmingham , England on 2 March . In the process he also stretched the SA and African Indoor Record to 8.44m , only narrowly losing to young Cuban jumper Juan Miguel Echevarria ’ s 8.46m . Fellow SA long jumpers Ruswahl Samaai finished sixth and Khotso Mokoena 14 th . In other results , Dominique Scott-Efurd finished 9 th in the women ’ s 3000m final , and only narrowly missed out progressing to the final of the 1500m , while sprinter Carina Horn made it to the semi-finals of the women ’ s 60m .
Henry Lays Down Marker
Rio Olympic triathlon bronze medallist Henri Schoeman showed he is in top form ahead of the Commonwealth Games when he won the first ITU World Triathlon Series ( WTS ) event of the season in Abu Dhabi on 4 March . Unfortunately , fellow SA triathletes Richard Murray and Gillian Sanders both suffered accidents on the wet roads during the bike leg , with Richard recovering to finish 10 th , but Gillian needing medical treatment after bailing early into the run .
Durban Triathlete Brutally Attacked
Durban triathlete Mhlengi Gwala was badly inured on 6 March when attacked by three men while out on a training ride . In spite of telling the attackers to take what they wanted , they inexplicably tried to cut off his feet with a blunt chainsaw , injuring both legs and almost severing the right calf . Following a five-hour operation , Mhlengi has regained feeling in his right foot , which has the medical team optimistic about his chances of recovery .
Caster ’ s Record Highlight of New Series
The first two meets of new ASA Liquid Telecom Grand Prix Athletix Series delivered some incredible performances , notably Caster Semenya winning the seldom run 1000m in 2:35.44 at the second meet on 8 March in Pretoria . That broke Ilze Wicksell ’ s 35-year-old record of 2:37.20 , which had been the longest-standing SA Record . Another star performer was Anaso Jobodwana . At the first meet in Johannesburg on 5 March , he won the 200m in 20.13 , then beat World 100m Champion Justin Gatlin of the USA over 150m in Pretoria , clocking 15.08 .
Images : Reg Cadecott , Tobia Ginsberg , Roger Sedres / ImageSA , Christiaan Kotze / SASPA & courtesy SABC News