Jaco van Dyk stepped on the podium on Wednesday, as Team South Africa produced some impressive performances to open their campaign on Day 1 of the World Athletics Under-20 Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
Van Dyk delivered a best throw of 19.09m in the qualifying round of the men's shot put in the morning session, booking his place in the final later in the evening. In the medal contest, the 16-year-old athlete went bigger, landing the shot at 19.80m and setting a new personal best to secure bronze. Alessandro Borges of Brazil (20.35m) won gold and Korean athlete Si-hoon Park (20.31m) earned the silver medal.
Meanwhile, the national mixed 4x400m relay squad broke two national records, putting up a strong fight. In the morning heats, Ryno Rikert, Zante van der Merwe, Abelines Schoeman and Isabella Gunter set a national junior mark of 3:22.12. After making one change to the team for the evening final, with Davida Strong replacing Van der Merwe, they went even quicker, taking sixth position in 3:21.48 and breaking the SA Under-20 record again.
HEYMANS SHINES IN MEN'S JAVELIN THROW
Distance runner Njabulo Hlatshwayo, the only other South African who competed in a final on the opening day of action, finished 15th in the men's 5 000m race in 14:13.90. Multiple other athletes kept their hopes alive by progressing beyond the opening rounds of their disciplines. In field events, Jan-Hendrik Heymans delivered a standout performance, launching a 76.02m heave in the qualifying round of the men's javelin throw.
He produced the best attempt of the first round, landing the spear more than six metres further than the next best thrower. Marques Olivier was sixth best (68.77m) among the qualifiers, and he was set to join Heymans in the final on Day 3.
Ashlynn Norman did well to land at 6.11m in the women's long jump qualifying round, and she booked her spot in the final taking place on Day 2.
ON THE TRACK
Marko Ferreira won his 100m semifinal race in 10.13 seconds, and he was set to turn out in the final on the second day of competition. Mukona Manavhela was fourth in his semifinal contest in 10.38, missing out on a place in the medal contest by 0.01.
In the women's 100m sprint, Rume Burger was fourth in her semifinal in 11.53, finishing 0.06 outside a spot in the final. Middle-distance runner Werner Gouws finished third in his 800m heat in 1:47.54 and Emil Els grabbed third position in his heat in 1:51.11, with both athletes progressing to the semifinals on Day 3.
In the women's 800m heats, Carise van Rooyen also took third place in her first-round heat in 2:06.52, and she too was set to compete in the penultimate round on Day 3 of competition.
South African athletes competing on day two (SA times):
Early session (Thursday night)
7pm - shot put qualification, women (Fortune Cleutus-Okolo, Johanne Lamprecht)
7.05pm - 3000m steeplechase heats, men (Siyabonga Mbeleki)
7.41pm - 400m hurdles heats, women (Megan Nieman, Tumi Ramokgopa)
8.05pm - high jump qualification, men (Kenneth Phooko, Matao le Roux)
8.27pm - 400m hurdles heats, men (Lesibe Dikgale, Matodzi Ndou)
9.27pm - 100m relay heats, mixed (SA team)
9.53pm - 400m women, heats (Christi Loggenberg, Davida Strong)
10.45pm - 400m men, heats (Leendert Koekemoer, Kryn Romijn)
Late session (Friday morning)
3.30am - 1500m heats, men (Bertus van der Linde, Tiisetso Malungane)
4.03am - 1500m heats, women (Lara Stander, Andrea Steynberg)
4.13am - long jump final, women (Ashlynn Norman)
4.40am - shot put final, women
4.44am - 400m semifinals, men
5.08am - 400m semifinals, women
5.50am - 100m final, men (Marko Ferreira)