With one day of competition remaining in Glasgow, the SA team are in 11th place in the overall standings with 28 medals (seven gold, 11 silver and 10 bronze).
South Africa’s Timothy Meuwsen (right) and Malaysia’s Amir Daniel Bin Abdul Majeed during the men’s -81kg judo final. Picture: Adam Pretty/Getty Images
Pole vaulter Kyle Rademeyer and judoka Timothy Meuwsen were the star performers for Team South Africa on Saturday, claiming silver medals, while sprinter Zakithi Nene earned bronze on the penultimate day of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Rademeyer was superb in the final of his specialist event, clearing the bar at 5.70m, just three centimetres short of his personal best.
Kurtis Marschall of Australia won gold, equalling the Games record of 5.85m to retain his Commonwealth title, while England’s Owen Heard cleared 5.70m for bronze.
Rademeyer sailed over the bar at his second attempt at 5.70m, and Heard needed three attempts, with the South African snatching the silver medal on count back.
Nene hangs on for bronze
Earlier in the day, Nene held on down the home straight to claim bronze in the men’s 400m final in 45.21 seconds.
Up front, Samuel Ogazi of Nigeria secured victory in 44.25 and defending champion Jereem Richards of Trinidad and Tobago took second place in 44.82.
There was also disappointment on the final day of the track and field competition, as the national athletics team completed their Games campaign with just four medals.
After winning their 4x100m heat in 38.30 seconds, the SA men’s quartet – Mvuyo Moss, Cheswill Johnson, Bradley Nkoana and Akani Simbine – lined up among the favourites in the final. But they crashed out, finishing fifth before being disqualified for a lane infringement.
Olympic silver medallist Jo-Ane du Plessis also fell short in the hunt for a podium place in the women’s javelin throw final.
Du Plessis, who returned to competition just three weeks ago after having back surgery in April, settled for sixth position with a best attempt of 56.22m.
In the men’s F57 shot put final, Nicolaas Strydom set a season’s best of 10.94m to finish fourth.
Meuwsen fights for silver
Meanwhile, on the judo mat, Meuwsen grabbed a silver medal in the men’s -81kg division.
Meuwsen beat Peniamina Percival of Samoa in the quarter-finals and defeated Odysseas Georgakis of Cyprus in their semifinal match.
Though he went on to lose against Malaysian opponent Amir Daniel Bin Abdul Majeed in the final, Meuwsen did well to earn a spot on the podium.
Fellow judoka Skye Knoester fought hard in the women’s -63kg category, but she missed out on a medal.
Knoester beat Ghana’s Elizabeth Oduro in the round of 16 after Oduro was disqualified, but she lost to Canada’s Laurence Biron, the eventual champion, in her quarter-final bout.
She bounced back, however, to beat Australia’s Maeve Coughlan in a repechage match before being defeated again by Indian opponent Unnati Sharma in their bronze medal contest.
After 10 days of competition in Glasgow, the SA team were in 11th place in the overall standings with 28 medals (seven gold, 11 silver and 10 bronze).
