South African long-jump champion Godfrey Khotso Mokoena (22) continued his brilliant form at the Ville de Dakar International Athletics meeting in the Senegalese capital on Saturday when he won his event with a world-class, wind-assisted distance of 8,32m.
It was only 2cm less than his best of 8,34m during the South African season. He was one of five athletes who jumped further than 8m, but all were aided by a strong following wind.
Brazilian Jadel Gregorio clinched second place with a fine 8,26m.
The 400m hurdles featured all four the South African athletes who had qualified earlier this year for the IAAF World Championships in Osaka in August. Top honours went to Alwyn Myburgh, the 2007 South African champion, although he had to be satisfied with second place behind Angelo Taylor of the United States, who impressed with the world’s fastest time of the year of 48,68 seconds.
Myburgh clocked 49,03 seconds and was the only of the four who ran faster than the A qualifying time for Japan. LJ van Zyl, the IAAF’s number three at the end of the 2007 season, finished fourth in 49,31 seconds and it was clear that he was not yet in his form of 2006.
Pieter Koekemoer (49,58) and Pieter de Villiers (50,52) registered sixth and eighth respectively.
Morné Nagel, one of three South African sprinters at the meeting, ran in the 100m and 200m races. He clocked 21,26 seconds for fourth place in the 200m and had to be content with seventh spot in the 100m with a time of 10,49 seconds.
His compatriots, Hannes Dreyer (21,26) and Sherwin Vries (21,33) finished lower in the order. The winner was Christopher Williams of Jamaica in 20,72 seconds. Fasuba Olusoji of Nigeria clocked a fast 10,17 seconds in the short sprint, defeating a strong field.
The two South African women, Estie Wittstock and Suné Labuschagne, both placed sixth in the 400m and 100m hurdles respectively. Wittstock finished in 53,26 seconds, and Labuschagne did well with a time of 13,74 seconds. — Sapa