There were two South African records broken when the country’s athletes competed against a sprinkling of Africa’s top talents at the first leg of the ASA Grand Prix series, a World Athletics Continental Tour Challenger meeting, at Pilditch Stadium in Pretoria on Wednesday.
The first national record was set by Leandri Holtzhausen in the women’s hammer throw competition, a throw of 67.95m being a full 1.41m further than her previous national best set in February.
The other SA record came in the women’s 4x400m relay, where Shirley Nekhubui, Miranda Coetzee, Marlie Viljoen and Zeney Geldenhuys produced a time of 3:min 28.30sec.
Olympic 800m finalist Prudence Sekgodiso (pictured), who has been in such good form on the European indoor circuit, won the women’s 800m, with a late change resulting in the 1500m race in which she was entered being cancelled.
Sekgodiso dipped under 2min, which is routine for her these days and won in 1:59.01, with her training partner Oratile Nowe second in 1:59.46. The qualifying time for the world championships in Tokyo later this year in September is 1:59.00.
“I enjoyed the race, it was nice,” Sekgodiso said afterwards. “it was part of my training as I am preparing for the World Indoors (championships). I am glad I ran a sub-two minutes as well.”
Recently-matriculated Karabio Letebele surprised all and sundry – and himself – when he was credited with winning the men’s 100m in 10.19sec, the same time given to Emile Erasmus. A long way back, in 100m perms, was the fastest man in Africa, Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala in 10.22.
Afterwards Letebele, still only 18, told the Citizen: “I didn’t expect to beat him. I thought he was going to run under 10 seconds, so I just told myself to execute my own race, go through my phases and I’ll be fine.”
In other selected results, Marione Fourie won women’s 100m hurdles in 12.77 and Njabulo Mbatha took the men’s 400m hurdles in 49.40.
