It was a successful day out for the South African athletics team, with four medals secured on the track at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia on Monday.
Akani Simbine and Henricho Bruintjies led the charge, racing to gold and silver in the men’s 100m final.
Simbine stopped the clock at 10.03, with Bruintjies finishing 0.14 off the pace. Jamaican Yohan Blake nicked the bronze medal from Nigeria’s Seye Ogunlewe in a photo finish, with both athletes timed at 10.19 secs.
Simbine is the first South African to win a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games 100m.
“I’m happy with myself and my team who believe in me, my coach (Werner Prinsloo) working so hard and telling me I could do it. It’s an amazing feeling,” Simbine said.
Michelle-Lee Ahye won the women’s 100m final in 11.14 secs to give Trinidad and Tobago its first athletics gold medal since Ato Boldon won the 100m in Games record time in Kuala Lumpur in 1998 and its first women’s athletics gold medal.
In the T37/38 men’s 100m sprint, Dyan Buis (11.33) and Charl du Toit (11.35) also secured two medals by scooping silver and bronze.
Orazio Cremona, meanwhile, took sixth position in the shot put final with a fourth-round effort of 20.51m.
Caster Semenya (4:05.86) and Antonio Alkana (13.32) had no trouble progressing into Tuesday’s finals for the women’s 1500m and men’s 110m hurdles respectively.
Junior athlete Breyton Poole gained tremendous experience but was unable to progress beyond the qualifying round with a 2.18m clearance in the men’s high jump.
“It’s a great day for South Africa and the continent,” said Aleck Skhosana, the President of Athletics South Africa. “It was a brilliant finish by our athletes, making it a good day in the office for South Africa.
“We take the opportunity to congratulate the athletes, their coaches and Team SA for the achievements so far and we wish all athletes who are still in competition the best of luck.
“We are also humbled as Africans to beat England and Jamaica in the final in the 100m. We hope these medals will inspire the youth of the continent to believe in themselves, their countries and continent.”
?: What. A. Day. For. #SouthAfrican. Athletics. The Bafana Bafana from Tuks ?? have done it ✅ #GC2018Athletics #GC2018 #AthleticsAfrica pic.twitter.com/KFuupIEmHG
— AthleticsAfrica ? (@athleticsafrica) April 9, 2018
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