The SA team are lying sixth in the overall standings at the multi-sport Games with 23 medals (six gold, nine silver and eight bronze).
Sprinter Masala Makatu (left) on the podium at the Commonwealth Games. Picture: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
The national athletics team ended their medal drought on Thursday night, with Masala Makatu claiming a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
While there were some near misses in a few events, visually impaired sprinter Makatu delivered, taking second place in the T12 men’s 100m final in 11.04 seconds (with the benefit of a +2.1m/s tailwind).
Behind him, Jaco Smith grabbed fourth spot in 11.24, crossing the line 0.18 outside a place on the podium
In other events, national record holder Marione Fourie put up a fight in the women’s 100m hurdles final, completing the race in fourth position in 12.66 (+2.5m/s), just 0.06 shy of a medal.
In the men’s shot put final, Aiden Smith also grabbed fourth spot, landing the implement at 20.31m. He fell 68 centimetres short of a place on the podium.
And Tayla Kavanagh did well to set a personal best of 14:58.49 in the women’s 5,000m contest, though she settled for eighth position.
Heats and semifinals
Meanwhile Sinesipho Dambile was the quickest athlete in the men’s 200m semifinals, winning his race in 19.82 (+2.3m/s).
In a separate race, Mthi Mthimkulu settled for fourth spot in his half-lap semifinal in 20.39 and he missed out on a place in the medal battle.
Dambile was set to line up among the favourites for the gold medal in the final to be held on Friday night (10.25pm).
In the early session on Thursday, three other athletes kept their medal hopes alive by progressing beyond the opening round of their events on day four of the track and field competition.
Sprinter Zakithi Nene was third in his 400m heat in 45.70, sneaking in as the last of the qualifiers after Jamaican athlete Antonio Watson was disqualified from the race, and he earned a lane in the one-lap medal contest to be held on Saturday.
Javelin thrower Douw Smith sent his spear sailing out to 80.64m, achieving the third best distance of the qualifying round and securing a place in Friday night’s final (9.15pm).
And middle-distance runner Karabo More ended fifth in her mile (1 609m) heat in 4:37.97, earning a spot in the final to be held on Saturday evening.
In other sports, weightlifter Christoffel Rheeders took eighth position in the men’s 110kg+ division, lifting a total of 303kg.
The SA netball team were handed a 58-54 defeat against England, finishing third in their pool and missing out on a place in the semifinals.
