Two South African athletes reached the podium in their events at the seventh leg of the Diamond League series in Stockholm, Sweden on Sunday night.
World indoor champion Prudence Sekgodiso took third position in a hard-fought women's 800m contest, raking in valuable Diamond League series points. She completed the two-lap race in 1:58.00, with Georgia Hunter Bell of Great Britain storming through at the finish to take the win in 1:57.66. Outdoor world champion Mary Moraa of Kenya finished second in 1:57.83, just 0.17 ahead of Sekgodiso.
Though it wasn't a Diamond League race, in the men's 100m contest, Bradley Nkoana took second position in the pre-programme. He crossed the finish line in 10.23 seconds, 0.05 off the pace of Ghanaian athlete Benjamin Asamati, who secured victory in 10.18. South African champion Gift Leotlela was disqualified for a false start.
In the men's 200m, Abduraghmaan Karriem took fifth position on his Diamond League debut, clocking 20.52. Reynier Mena of Cuba claimed the win in 20.05 seconds.
"We have to celebrate every podium finish that is achieved by our athletes," said James Moloi, the president of Athletics South Africa. "This helps to cultivate the culture of top finishes at every competition we enter.
"Also, the performances on any given day help athletes to gauge themselves on how far they are in their readiness and what areas they have to correct. A false start at this point, for instance, has a good side to it, because it helps one to work on his or her take-off concentration in time for Tokyo for the World Athletics Championships in September."
The next leg of the Diamond League series will be held in Paris on Friday.