Van Zyl told Sarel van der Walt of the daily Beeld he is satisfied with his time considering it was his first race of the season.
His coach, Nico van Heerden, agreed.
“LJ can be satisfied with his performance. It was the first time since Korea in September last year that he took part in the hurdles. He looked strong and can only improve,” said Van Heerden to Beeld.
Van Zyl got good support from fellow-Tukkies. Wouter le Roux set the pace for most of the race, but only came in third (51.46) with club mate Johann Hanekom taking second spot in 51.42.
Van Zyl is soon to set sail for Australia where he will take part in meetings in Melbourne and Sydney.
With the exception of Van Zyl only one other Tukkkie athlete managed to claim first prize. It was in the B rade of the 100 meter men where Francois Maasdorp’s hand time of 10.8 was good enough for the proverbial gold medal.
In both the 400 m men (Pieter Smith, 46.57) and women (Alet van Wyk, 54.92) Tukkies athletes came in second, while club mate Hardus Pienaar did his bid in the field with a throw of 77.59 that placed him second.