On a tough day at the office for Team South Africa, Tshepo Tshite and Zeney van der Walt were the only athletes to progress beyond the qualifying rounds of their events at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, on Monday.
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Competing on the third day of action at the biennial showpiece, Tshite was the standout performer for the Rainbow Nation, finishing sixth in his 1 500m semifinal in 3:36.93. Though it initially seemed Tshite had narrowly missed out on a place in the final by 0.01 - in what would have been a shock repeat of his disappointment at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest - American athlete Cole Hocker was disqualified and Tshite was awarded a spot in the medal battle to be held on Wednesday.
In the women's 400m hurdles event, Van der Walt progressed beyond the opening round after taking fourth place in her heat in 55.32, booking her place in the semifinals on Wednesday. Her compatriot, Rogail Joseph, ended seventh in her heat in 56.20 and she was eliminated in the first round.
Earlier, marathon runner Elroy Gelant tried to hold on in hot, humid conditions, but he faded in the second half of the men's 42km race, settling for 33rd position in 2:16:32. Up front, the gold medal was secured by Alphonce Simbu of Tanzania, who won a tightly contested sprint finish in 2:09:48.
NOT THE BEST DAY FOR SA
In other events, on the track, SA record holder Marione Fourie was disqualified for knocking down a hurdle in 'an illegal way' in the women's 100m hurdles semifinals.
Fellow hurdler Sabelo Dhlamini was fifth in his first-round 400m race over the barriers in 49.50 and he was knocked out ahead of the penultimate round. John Adesola (13.57), Mondray Barnard (13.57) and Antonio Alkana (13.67) were all outside the top five in their 110m hurdles heats and did not qualify for the semifinals.
In field events, Cheswill Johnson took 32nd position overall in the men's long jump qualifying round with a 7.55m leap and coukd not progress. Mire Reinstorf was eliminated from the women's pole vault qualifiers after failing to clear the opening height.
"We will take any progress today," reasoned James Moloi, the President of Athletics South Africa. "It was a day we will be glad to forget in other events where it didn't go our preferred. Let those still on competition take us forward."
Schedule of SA athletes on Day 4 (Tuesday, 16 September):
2.35pm – 400m men, semifinals (Zakithi Nene, Lythe Pillay).