South African junior shot-put champion Marli Knoetze was one of South Africa’s stars on the final day of the African Junior Athletics Championships held in the Rades Stadium, Tunis, on Sunday.
Knoetze broke the African and South African junior record with an outstanding effort of 16,93m.
It added 40cm to the previous continental record, set by Veronica Abrahamse six years ago, and moved her into sixth spot on the South African all-time senior list.
Knoetze, a Limpopo schoolgirl and bronze-medal winner at the World Youth Championships in 2003, had a very good day and improved on Abrahamse’s record on no less than three occasions. She also had puts of 16,57m and 16,66m.
On the first day of the championships, she also won the discus title with a throw of 46,44m.
Considering the fact that most of the South African athletes had not been competing since April, they did very well by winning 25 medals at the championships, 10 more than Kenya, with Sudan third on the list with 13.
South Africans won 10 gold, nine silver and six bronze medals against the nine golds, four silvers and two bronze medals of Kenya.
Eighteen countries took part in the biennial meeting. Seven of South Africa’s gold medals were won by girls. Apart from Knoetze and Smit, the others were Thandi Mngwevu (100m, 12,08 seconds — she was also third in the 200m), Lindi van Dyk (long jump, 5,8m), Handri Botha (10km walk, 52 minutes and 15,22 seconds) and Riatha Jacobs (javelin, 47,29m).
Robert Oosthuizen, silver-medal winner in the javelin at the 2003 World Youth meeting, showed his class by winning with a magnificent throw of 75,94m, winning by 12m and improving his personal best by 4,46m. It also shifted him into fifth place on the South African junior all-time list.
Tinus de Bruin, second in the decathlon, also set a new South African junior record of 6 355 points, while Anika Smit became South Africa’s seventh-best high-jumper to date with a winning height of 1,89m. It was a 3cm improvement on her previous best.
Ruan de Vries, the South African junior record-holder in the 110m hurdles, won two gold medals. He first clinched the gold in the hurdles and then joined Brendon Clement, Eugene Tempies and Lehann Fourie to win the 4x100m relay in an impressive time of 40,60 seconds. It was the second-fastest by any South African team this year. — Sapa
Other medal-winners
Silver
Boys: Brent Howell (pole vault, 4,6m), Donovan Snyman (shot put, 17,25m), Johan Kruger (hammer throw, 55,02m), Tinus de Bruin (decathlon).
Girls: Arista Hefer (200m, 24,15 seconds), Christine Ras (100m hurdles, 14,38 seconds), Aneen Groenewald (javelin, 44,05m), Heike Kotze (heptathlon, 4 541 points), South African team (4x400m relay, 3:47,39).
Bronze
Boys: Lehann Fourie (110m hurdles, 14,23 seconds), Johann Hanekom (400m hurdles, 51,86 seconds), Leendert Haasbroek (high jump, 2,1m), Uwe Sauer (discus, 52,56m), Meyer Conradie (hammer, 53,36 seconds).
Girls: Thandi Mngwevu (200m, 24,88 seconds).