The South African 100m-hurdles champion, Marione Fourie, continued her dominance in this item last week, winning in 13.01s during the Grand Prix Meeting hosted by ASA at Tuks.

Two other local athletes won the silver and bronze medals. Kyala van den Bergh was second in a time of 13.76s. The South African junior champion and silver medallist at the SA Senior Champs, Chane Kok finished third. Her time of 13.79s is a personal best.

It was the Tuks Sports Science student’s 15th consecutive victory. The last time Fourie got beaten locally in the 100m-hurdles was on 19 June 2021. Fourie is the only local hurdler to have dipped under 13 seconds in South Africa.

The South African record-holder, Rikenette Steenkamp, only did so racing internationally, as has Corien Botha.

Steenkamp, who announced her retirement earlier this year, got 10 sub-13 races to her name, while Botha did so on three occasions. Fourie has done so on five occasions. Her best time is 12.93s.

The Tuks student makes no bones about her goal. She wants to set a new South African record. It means she has to run faster than 12.81s. Fourie is under no illusions as to what it will take to do so.

“I need to compete internationally to get pushed to my limits. I am often in the lead by the third hurdle in local races. Then it is me against the stopwatch. It is not good because I tend to slow down ever so slightly involuntarily,” she remarked after her victory last week.

The 19-year-old South African senior champion, Armand van der Walt from Hoërskool Garsfontein, set a new personal best running 20.49s in the 200 metres at the event. It is faster than the times Akani Simbine and Wayde van Niekerk ran when they were 19.

The South African champion, Michelle Ngozo, won the women’s high jump with a 1.72 metres effort.

Zeney van der Walt’s performance in the women’s 400 metres was undoubtedly the evening’s highlight. The TUT athlete won in 50.81s. It is a massive improvement. Her previous best was 51.41s. Van der Walt’s heroics means she has qualified for the World Champs.

Caster Semenya (49.62s), Heidi Seyerling (50.05s), Myrtle Bothma (50.12s) and Adri de Jongh (50.73s) are the only South African athletes who have been faster.

The athletics statistician, Danie Cornelius, said that Van der Walt’s 50.81s time indicates she is ready to dip under 54s in the 400m hurdles.

“I won’t be surprised if she betters Myrtle Bothma’s long-standing South African record of 53.74s. It is high time someone runs faster as Myrtle set the record in 1986,” Cornelius remarked.

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