/ 11 May 2000

THUGWANE TO DEFEND TITLE IN SYDNEY

THE National Olympic Commission of South Africa on Wednesday named South Africa’s Olympic track and field team for the Sydney showcase in September. Josia Thugwane has been included in the team and aims to defend the marathon title he won in Atlanta 1996. The runner has personal reasons for winning the tile again, as his manager Jacques Malan is suffering from cancer. Malan guided Thugwane to victory in Atlanta where he managed the SA marathon team and oversaw their high-altitude preparations. Malan said on Wednesday that he hopes to be strong enough to make it to Sydney. Malan also accompanied Thugwane to the London Marathon where he finished eighth in 2hrs 10min 29sec in the Olympic qualifier last month. Hendrik Ramaala, who qualified in London with a maiden 2:09:43, spearheads the four-man team. The other runners are Johannes Maremane and Elana Meyer — silver-medallist in the 10000m at Barcelona 1992. Joshua Peterson and Ezael Thlobo were named as reserves.

PSL STANDINGS

P W D L F A P

1 Sundowns 29 21 5 3 59 29 68

2 Orlando Pirates 31 18 8 5 68 29 62

3 Kaizer Chiefs 31 16 10 5 37 18 58

4 Wits University 32 12 14 6 35 24 50

5 Jomo Comsos 33 12 13 8 47 30 49

6 Ajax CT 14 7 11 39 36 49

7 Hellenic 32 13 6 13 59 42 45

8 Mann. Rangers 31 12 9 10 48 46 45

9 Santos 33 9 15 9 48 50 42

10 Bloem. Celtic 32 10 10 12 44 49 40

11 Classic 32 12 4 16 41 63 40

12 Mor. Swallows 33 10 9 14 38 52 39

13 FS Stars 31 9 11 11 26 33 38

14 Afr. Wanderers 33 11 5 17 36 48 38

15 SuperSport Utd 32 9 10 13 45 47 37

16 Bush Bucks 31 9 9 13 42 46 36

17 AmaZulu 33 9 9 15 31 42 36

18 Mother City 33 2 4 27 22 81 10

PSL FIXTURES

Saturday. Hellenic v Free State Stars, Greenpoint Stadium 3pm

BOB SAVE SUPER BOWL FIXTURES

Semi-finals. Thursday: Kaizer Chiefs v Bush Bucks, Johannesburg Stadium 8pm

Sunday: Sundowns v AmaZulu, Loftus Stadium 3pm