Latest news with #JovanvanVuuren
The Citizen
25-04-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
Hurdlers stand out on day two of SA Athletics Championships
Jovan van Vuuren reclaimed his national long jump title with a leap of 8.00 metres. Zeney Geldenhuys earned her fifth national title and 30-year-old Sabelo Dhlamini claimed his first national crown on Friday, as 400m hurdles stole the show on the second day of competition at the SA Athletics Championships in Potchefstroom. Geldenhuys, who reached the Olympic semifinals last year, had no trouble in the women's one-lap final over the barriers, claiming victory in 55.09 seconds. She finished well clear of 17-year-old Tumi Ramokgopa, who clocked 55.90 to dip under 56 seconds for the first time in her fledgling career. 'I'm very happy with first place and the time is not bad as well, so that means the sub-55 and sub-54 is coming closer with each race, and I'm very excited about that,' Geldenhuys said. Dhlamini narrowly misses qualifier Meanwhile, Dhlamini was equally dominant, completing the men's final in 48.57, setting a personal best and missing the qualifying standard for this year's World Athletics Championships by just 0.07. Rising junior star Njabulo Mbatha took the runner-up spot in 49.28. 'I've been chasing this title for the last four years, and the first two times I was hitting hurdles and not even making it to the line properly… so when I saw the line with nobody next to me I thought 'I've made it', so I'm very happy,' Dhlamini said. There was also a solid performance by Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Jovan van Vuuren, who landed at 8.00m to reclaim the national men's long jump title he won in 2022. Defending champion Cheswill Johnson earned the silver medal, just three centimetres back (7.97m), and former world champion Luvo Manyonga settled for sixth place, landing at 7.68m. 'After missing out on the national championships with an abdominal injury last year, bouncing back now and reclaiming my title is special,' Van Vuuren said. Looking ahead Plenty of excitement is expected on the third and final day of competition at the national championships, to be held on Sunday. Thrilling battles are expected in the men's 200m and 400m races, where experienced campaigners and exciting young prospects will lock horns over both distances. With Gift Leotlela pulling up injured in his first-round 200m heat, Bayanda Walaza and Benji Richardson will turn out among the favourites in the half-lap race, while Zakithi Nene, Udeme Okon and Leendert Koekemoer (who set a national junior record of 45.03 seconds in the semifinals) will be the main contenders in the 400m event. Other races which could have the crowd on its feet include the women's 800m final, where world indoor champion Prudence Sekgodiso could be pushed hard by Charne Swart, and the men's 5 000m final, which will see in-form distance runner Adriaan Wildschutt turning out in defence of his SA title.
TimesLIVE
25-04-2025
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Jovan van Vuuren leads 'old-timer' domination at SA championships
Jovan van Vuuren reclaimed his South African long-jump crown at the national showpiece in Potchefsroom on Friday, keeping up a trend of veterans shining on the track. The 28-year-old, who won his last title in 2022, cleared 8.00m to take first place ahead of defending champion Cheswill Johnson on 7.97m. National record-holder and 2017 world champion Luvo Manyonga, on his way back after serving a four-year ban for a doping offence, ended sixth on 7.68m. These championships have seen some great performances by youngsters, but it's been the older guys who have been taking the titles. 'Today was more a mental game for me in terms of what happened in Paris,' said Van Vuuren, who received threatening messages on his cellphone before his Olympic competition last year. 'For me it was all a confidence thing. The whole season was confidence and believing in myself again. Today proved to me that just jumping eight meters is special for me. 'Claiming the title, that's a bonus. Jumping eight metres showed me I'm still capable of jumping big jumps and playing with the big dogs internationally.' Manyonga, who is staying with a family in Eerste River, believes he could start clearing 8am if he can get support like full-time coaching, nutrition and physio. While others are planning campaigns into the European summer, Manyonga was less certain about his. 'I'm still hustling and trying to find myself in a proper place, having a proper system so I can be able to find myself in a place where I have a gym and everything… 'An athlete needs a proper team around him so he can perform more.' Sabelo Dhlamini won his maiden South African title at the age of 30, running a 48.57 personal best that left him flat on his back for several minutes after the race. Dhlamini, who completed his masters in public management and governance last year, had a best before 49.48 from last year, has exploded onto the scene this year, going 48.75 in February before lowering that on Friday. 'My coach [Reneilwe Aphane] and I in the previous years we've always tried to build the engine, build endurance, but that usually used to take away from my speed so this year I've been training with the 200 guys,' said the University of Johannesburg athlete. He's not far from the 48.50 qualifying time for the world championships, but he was talking about running sub-48 in Japan, if not even sub-47. 'We want to try and get in the final maybe, who knows, maybe even get a 47 … maybe even get a medal, who knows… 'My coach believes in me more than I do myself.' Zeney Geldenhuys successfully defended her 400m hurdles title, winning in 55.09 ahead of junior Tumi Ramokgopa, who was chuffed with her 55.90 personal best. Karmen Fouche won the national heptathlon title her mother, Maralize Visser, held in years gone by. The SA triple-jump champion from last year picked up the discipline only this year, but her total of 5969 points — the third highest by a South African after record-holder Janice Josephs (6181) and her mom (5988) — convinced her she's on the right path. She finds javelin the most technical, but perhaps she will discover genetic abilities from her father Louis, who won gold in this throwing event at the 1993 World Student Games gold. Her final event, the 800m, was tough, she admitted. 'It's very emotional because you're finished, you are in pain. But I knew I got my first South African title so it was a good feeling for me through the pain,' added the final year pharmacy student at North West University. Leendert Koekemoer broke the 31-year-old national under-20 400m record as he finished second in his semifinal in 45.03, one-hundredth behind Gardeo Isaacs. The previous 45.15 mark from May 1994 was held by Riaan Dempers. The men's 400m final is set for Saturday. Breyton Poole, 25, won his first senior high jump title, taking the triumph on countback with a 2.20m clearance. In other action, multiple champions Leandri Holtzhausen, Victor Hogan and Zinzi Xulu ended top of their podiums. Holtzhausen won the women's hammer with a throw of 66.97m, Hogan took the men's discus with a best twirl of 61.11m and Xulu finished first in the women's triple jump with a 13.44 hop, skip and jump.
