OWN CORRESPONDENT, Dakar | Friday 11.00am.
SOUTH African hammer thrower Chris Harmse, who is the African record holder in the event, won the gold medal at the African Athletics Championships in Dakar, Senegal ,with a throw of 72,11m on Thursday night.
Nigerian competitors dominated on Thursday, with Clement Chukwu and Falilat Ogunkoya doing a double in the 400m event. Chukwu won the men’s race in 44,65seconds, while Ogunkoya won the women’s race in 50,07.
The Nigerians picked up a third gold when Chioma Ajunw took the women’s long jump with a leap of 6,78m.
Other winners on Thursday included Kenyan Bernard Barmasai, who took the 3000m steeplechase in 8:11,74, and Mozambican veteran Maria Mutola, who won the women’s 800m final in 1:57,93, almost two seconds outside her season’s best.