Four local sprinters run dazzling relay time in Germiston
The 4x100m relay was one of the highlights at the final ASA Speed Series meeting in Germiston on Wednesday evening.
As expected, sprinters and hurdlers stole the show, with the national Men’s 4x100m Relay team – all members of TuksAthletics – producing the standout performance of the evening, at the last ASA Speed Series meeting in Germiston.
With Henricho Bruintjies launching himself out the blocks, teenage prodigies Gift Leotlela and Clarence Munyai delivering smooth handovers and SA 100m record holder Akani Simbine storming down the home straight, the young quartet completed the race in 38.47.
The performance, 0.12 outside the national mark, was tied second on the all-time SA rankings in the event.
With the IAAF World Relays in Bahamas next month and the IAAF World Championships in London in August this year, it is a big season for the nation’s top sprinters. Athletics SA has prepared relay training camps in the build-up.
Bruintjies, the former SA 100m record holder, who formed part of the quartet who set the current relay mark at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow nearly three years ago, felt they were on the right track to deliver as a team this season, provided they continued to receive the required support.
“This is only the start of it, so I’m excited because there are young guys coming in, and a few experienced guys. I feel if we can put a team together and get some good practice sessions we can really do well,” Bruintjies said.
Earlier, in individual events, national 200m record holder Anaso Jobodwana and double SA sprint champion Alyssa Conley, picked up expected victories in the Men’s and Women’s 100m races, though neither had it all their own way.
Jobodwana was made to work hard in the second half, before tearing clear of the rest of the field in the latter stages of the race to beat Le Roux van Tonder by 0.15.
After winning the race in 10.36, he admitted he still needed to work on his start after a lengthy injury layoff which derailed his 2016 campaign.
“My intensity and my rhythm is the big thing,” Jobodwana said. “When I get up into my running it feels so smooth, but I need that acceleration. I’ve been getting it right at training but when I get to a race it’s still not clicking, so I have to go back and fix it.”
Conley also had to push all the way to the line, edging out junior speedster Tamzin Thomas by 0.06 as she charged to victory in the Women’s 100m event.
In other contests, Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Ruswahl Samaai won the Men’s Long Jump with a best effort of 8.00m, 110m Hurdles star Antonio Alkana earned a hard-fought win in his specialist discipline in 13.52 and race walker Lebogang Shange set a personal best of 11:20.06 in a rare appearance over 3 000m on the track.
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