THURSDAY, 1.00PM:
SOUTH AFRICA’S 800m medal hopeful Hezekiel Sepeng was eliminated in the semi-finals at the World Athletics Championships in Athens on Wednesday night. Sepeng finished fifth and second last with a time of 1min 47,00sec.
He was boxed in and tried to pull out of the pack unsuccessfully. Sepeng refused to blame the hamstring injury that has been troubling him through the championships. He said when he came out to compete he was 100% fit. “I only have myself to blame. Perhaps I got too confident, and one mistake you make in the 800m you are finished. It’s too late to correct anything now,” he said. He said he lacked energy in the last 100m and the final kick was not there.
Hendrik Ramaala of South Africa finished 14th in the 10 000m final with a time of 28min 33,48sec on Wednesday. Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia won the race in 27min 24,58sec.
Meanwhile, Namibia’s Frankie Fredericks may not continue with the rest of the 200m event in Athens because of injury. “I have had a knee injury all season and the hard track is making it worse,” he said. He said he will see how it feels before making any decisions about running again.