South African athletes have won only seven medals on the first two days of the athletics competition at the ninth All Africa Games in Algiers.
Sixteen events have so far been completed and the results show that SA athletes managed three silver and four bronze medals.
The medal winners were: silver — Nombulelo (Constance) Mkenku (100m), Anika Smit (high jump), Roelie Potgieter (shot put); bronze — Hannes Hopley (discus, 57,79m), Shaun Bownes (110m hurdles, 13,81 sec), Eva Thornton, a 39-year-old veteran from Port Elizabeth (pole vault, 3,40m) and Marcoleen Pretorius (high jump).
Mkenku, the 18-year-old sprinter from Welkom, continued her sensational form in the 100m when she finished second in the final in an outstanding 11,27 seconds. It was only 0,02 sec outside the national junior record set by Marcel Winkler in 1989 and has opened the door for her to compete in the World Championships in Osaka.
It has also made her South Africa’s fastest sprinter of the year. Depending on the wind-strength in the race her performance also made her the sixth fastest South African women’s sprinter of all time. No wind readings have been made available for the running events to date.
Roelie Potgieter (27), the dedicated South African Universities shot-put champion, also won a silver medal. He was rewarded for his long service to the sport with a second place and a personal best of 19,02m. It was his first time over 19m and the 15th South African to do so. The gold medal went to Yasser Ibrahim of Egypt with 19,20m.
Commonwealth Games champion Anika Smit, who cleared 1,89m in the high jump, lost the title on count back. Doren Evowomana of Nigeria won the gold medal. She had a clear record until 1,89m against Smit’s two failures at 1,86m. Smit’s teammates, South African junior champion Marcoleen Pretorius and Rene van der Merwe, both succeeded at 1,83m but Pretorius was credited with the third spot.
Snyman Prinsloo, sole South African sprinter in the 100m final, finished fifth in a time of 10,39 sec. Nigeria’s Olusoji Fasuba, holder of the Africa record, won the final in 10,18 seconds from Erick Nkansah of Ghana (10m35) and Uchenna Emedolu of Nigeria (10,37).
Mbulaeni Mulaudzi easily cruised into Friday’s final of the 800m while Lebogang Phalula finished fourth in the women’s final with a time of 2 min 6,27 sec. — Sapa