Mbulaeni Mulaudzi and LJ van Zyl, two of South Africa’s top athletes, have both lost their number-one positions on the latest IAAF world rankings in the 800m and 400m hurdles respectively.
It followed after their disappointing performances at the recent World Championships in Osaka, Japan, where Mulaudzi could do no better than seventh place in his event, while Van Zyl made a judgement error and failed to qualify for the semifinal.
Youssef Saad Kamal of Bahrain is the new number one in the 800m, with Mulaudzi moving into second place ahead of Wilfred Bungei of Kenya. The South African had occupied first place since the end of the 2006 season.
Van Zyl has been passed by two Americans. World champion Kerron Clement is the new number one with his compatriot, James Carter, second.
Of the other South African 400m hurdling stars, Alwyn Myburgh, Ter de Villiers and Pieter Koekemoer are in ninth, 18th and 29th position respectively
Koekemoer won the gold medal at the World Student Games in Bangkok. Robert Oosthuizen, world junior javelin champion and the only South African athlete to set a personal best in Osaka, has been promoted from 10th to eighth place, while Hardus Pienaar, who failed to qualify for the world final, is now in 11th place.
Godfrey Mokoena, the South African record holder in the long and triple jump, has moved up a place from fifth to fourth in the long-jump rankings. It followed on his sound performance and fifth placing at the World Championships in Japan. — Sapa