Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 114, January 2019

N EW S I n t h e Compiled by Sean Falconer Comrades champion Ann Ashworth delivered a superb performance in the Valencia Marathon in Spain on 2 December when she finished twelfth in 2:35:47. This saw her take 11 and a half minutes off her previous PB, run on the largely downhill and thus aided Kaapsehoop Marathon course in Mpumalanga, and also shot her up the rankings of top SA performances for 2018, with only Gerda Steyn, Irvette van Zyl and Nolene Conrad having gone faster. SA Duo Miss Out on Athlete of Year Awards In spite of enjoying incredibly successful 2018 seasons, neither of the two South African World Champions who made the top 10 list of nominees for the IAAF World Athlete of the Year awards made into the final top five shortlist. Both long jumper Luvo Manyonga and middle distance superstar Caster Semenya missed the top five cut in late November, ahead of the announcement of the winners in Monaco on 4 December. Long jumper Luvo won the Commonwealth Games gold medal in Australia in April, then also claimed the Diamond League title and added a silver medal at both the World Indoor and African Championships, and was simply unlucky not to make the top five. However, Caster’s exclusion was controversial, to say the least, given that she did the 800m and 1500m double at the Commonwealth Games as well as the 800m and 400m double at the African Championships, won the 800m Diamond League title, ran the fourth-fastest 800m of all time, and also enjoyed top-10 rankings in the 1500m and 400m. Many feel she was left out because she has taken the IAAF to the Court of Arbitration for Sport over its proposed regulations for athletes with Hyperandrogenism, which would require her to take medication to lower naturally occurring levels of testosterone. 8 ISSUE 114 JANUARY 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za The eventual winners of the IAAF Athlete of the Year Awards were Kenyan marathoner Eliud Kipchoge and triple jumper Caterine Ibargüen of Columbia. SA Athletes Dominate at African Zonal Youth Games Boasting a total of 47 medals, including 19 golds, South Africa was crowned overall athletics champions at the African Union Sports Council Region 5 Youth Games in mid-December, held in sweltering heat in Gaborone, Botswana. Our athletes claimed both the gold and silver medals in several events, including Silusapho Dingiswayo (10.36) and Temba Monareng (10.46) ‘doubling’ in the men’s 100m. Nicola van der Merwe (11.88) and Rose Xeyi (12.03) repeated the feat in the women’s 100m, and then also helped the SA women’s 4x100m relay team win gold, along with Rogail Joseph and Antionette van der Merwe. In the field events, notable doubles went to Ignatius Marais (58.81m) and Kyle Blignaut (54,83m) in the men’s discus, as well as Collet Uys (43.46m) and Meike Strydom (41.96) in the women’s discus. Another highlight was Sifiso Miya winning the men’s high jump with a clearance of 1.75m. And also contributing to the medal haul were the para-athletes, including golds for Daniel Briers-Louw in the men’s 100m T13 and Chane Hendrick in the men’s 100m T12. Lion’s Head Trails Closed Trail runners in Cape Town will not be able to enjoy one of their most popular hill workouts for five weeks, due to South African National Parks (SANParks) closing down Lion’s Head in order to repair its severely damaged and eroded trails. The popular peak will be completely off- limits to all from 7 January to 15 February. Jetline Ashworth Claims Marathon PB

Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 114, January 2019 | Page 8