If not for a strong wind from behind Rikenette Steenkamp would have set a new South African record in the 100m-hurdles at yesterday’s Resisprint International Meeting in Switzerland.

The Tuks/HPC-athlete won in a time of 12.92s which is 0.02s faster than the record set by Corien Botha in 1998.  Unfortunately, the wind from behind was measured at 2.01m/s which means it was too strong by 0.01m/s for Steenkamp’s time to be official.  

Last Thursday in Ostrava she won in a time of 12.99s. So it is safe to predict that the record is going to go. The only remaining question is when? Steenkamp’s next race will be on 11 July in Gothenburg, Sweden.

According to Steenkamp yesterday’s weather conditions were far from ideal.

“In spite of it being cold and rainy, I still managed to put together a good race which is a great confidence booster.  It is also exciting to know that I was able to twice dip under 13 seconds in four days,” said the Tuks/HPC-athlete.

Emile Erasmus (Tuks) finished second in the 100m running 10.21s. He is the first to admit that it was not one of his better performances. 

“All the travelling over the last three weeks to get to races caught up with me. I did not race with the best of legs. Luckily I got a slight break now which hopefully will help me to recover,” said Erasmus who earlier this season set a new personal best running 10.08s.

Le Roux Hamman (Tuks) finished second in the 400m-hurdles running 49.70s. Hardus Maritz was third in 50.09s.  Anaso Jobodwana ran a time of 20.78s in the 200m to finish third.

**Clarence Munyai (TuksSport High School) won the 200m at the African Junior Championships in Algeria in a time of 20.22s. It is the second best of his career and only 0.12s outside his South African junior record. 

“I am very happy with my performance as I had to race in lane eight which is never easy.  I rate this as one of my better performances as we raced at sea level,” said Munyai who set a new world best for juniors over 300m when he raced in Ostrava last Thursday.

His next race is the Diamond League Meeting on 16 July in Rabat. Munyai makes no secret about the fact that he wants to dip under 20 seconds before the end of the season. He reckons he is capable of running 19.95s.

** Meanwhile, in the Folksam Grand Prix in Sollentuna, Sweden the former Commonwealth champion, Cornel Fredericks (Tuks/HPC), led the way, with gold in the men’s 400m hurdles. He won in 49.80 to make it an all-SA podium as Le Roux Hamman (50.36) and Constant Pretorius (50.52) took the other medals.

**On Friday in Ried, Austria Carina Horn (Tuks/HPC) won the 100m in 11.31s. Tamzin Thomas was second in 11.67s.

Horn is racing tomorrow in Budapest where she hopes the weather will allow her to run a fast time. Her best time so far for the season is the 11.10s which she ran at the South African Championships in Potchefstroom.

Akani Simbine (Tuks/HPC) is also racing in Budapest. Last year at the same meeting he set a new South African record running 9.89s.

**The form that led to Henricho Bruintjies (Tuks) becoming only the third South African athlete to dip under ten seconds in the 100m is still eluding him. On Saturday at the Diamond League Meeting in Paris he ran 10.23s to finish fourth.  Ben Youssef Meite (Ivory Coast) won in 9.99s.

The South African 110m-hurdles record-holder, Antonio Alkana, finished fifth in the short hurdles running 13.24s.  Ronald Levy (Jamaica) won in 13.05s.