South African Olympic 110m Hurdles semi-finalist Antonio Alkana broke the African and South African records in his specialist discipline on Monday evening.
Alkana took the win in the Men’s 110m race in 13.11 at a European Classic Permit Meeting in Prague, Czech Republic to improve the continental and national mark of 13.24 set by Lehann Fourie in Brussels in September 2012.
He was 0.13 ahead of Hungarian athlete Balazs Baji, the European Championships silver medallist, who took second position.
In the Women’s 400m Hurdles, Wenda Theron Nel gave a clear indication she was approaching her best form, taking a convincing win in 54.66 to clock an A standard IAAF qualifying time for the World Championships in August.
She completed the race 0.76 clear of her nearest competitor, World Student Games champion Joanna Linkiewicz of Poland.
Sprinter Thando Roto grabbed third spot in the Men’s 100m dash in 10.15, just behind Mosito Lehata who equalled his own Lesotho national record of 10.11 to triumph in a blanket finish.
Cornel Fredericks also took third place in the Men’s 400m Hurdles in 49.42, and Lindsay Hanekom – who missed the domestic season because of recurring injury – was fifth, setting a Season’s Best of 50.63. Senegalese-born French athlete Mamadou Kasse Hanne won the battle over the barriers in 49.02.
Dumisani Hlaselo settled for 17th place in the 1 500m race in 3:49.13.
Elsewhere …
On Monday evening, Pieter Conradie earned second place in the Men’s 400m race in 45.88 at the International Track & Field Meeting in Rehlingen, Germany which was won by Botswana’s Nkobolo Onkabetse in 45.62.
Middle-distance runner Rynardt van Rensburg finished third in a tactical 800m battle at the same Meeting in 1:47.66.
National 200m record holder Anaso Jobodwana was fourth in the 100m contest in 10.28 with the benefit of a +2.2 metres per second tailwind.
Tebogo Mamathu seemed to face some trouble in the women’s short sprint, trailing across the line outside 18 seconds, though it was unclear what had hampered the Tshwane-based sprinter.
Meet The Authors
Athletics South Africa is the governing body for the sport code of track and field in the Republic of South Africa with a head office in Johannesburg.
