You simply can’t keep a good man down. So proved Luvo Manyonga, when he soared to his second national long jump record of the season as the SA senior track and field championships wound down in Potchefstroom on Saturday.
The Rio silver medallist set a packed Kenneth McArthur Athletics Stadium in Potchefstroom alive, and bettered his own continental mark by three centimetres, when he leapt to a massive 8.65 metre effort on his opening attempt. It was also to be his last attempt, as he pulled out with a slight niggle to his hamstring.
‘I’m pleased with the gold medal, but the focus is not on the SA Championships. The focus is on the World Championships in London later this year,’ said Manyonga, who earned his first national senior title.
Commonwealth Games silver medallist in Glasgow three years ago, Ruswahl Samaai took second place by producing a personal best of 8.49m
Meanwhile, 400m world record holder Wayde van Niekerk turned the tables on good friend Akani Simbine, who had beaten him to the 100m gold medal on Friday’s opening day.
Van Niekerk won the 200m final in 19.90, crossing the line 0.25 ahead of Simbine.
“It’s a long season so I didn’t want to get too far ahead of myself,” said Van Niekerk, who eased off before the line and missed Anaso Jobodwana’s national record by 0.03.
“We all know the goals now are the World Championships and the European season, so we’re just trying to look after ourselves and maintain our bodies so we can represent SA well on the international circuit.”
Orazio Cremona delivered the performance of his career, smashing his personal best by 49 centimetres to win the men’s shot put with a heave of 21.12m, with Jaco Engelbrecht also securing a personal best of 20.63 for silver.
In the women’s 100m hurdles, Rikenette Steenkamp narrowly missed out on breaking the 13-second barrier by setting a personal best of 13.02, and Tiaan Smit stunned defending champion Antonio Alkana to win the men’s high hurdles in 13.42.
Virtual Campus
Get Social With Us
Download the UP Mobile App