SA athletes struggle in Rome
South Africans to get their act together before next meeting on 11 June.
It was not an easy night for South African athletes at the fourth leg of the Diamond League series in Rome on Thursday night as star sprinter Simon Magakwe gave the most promising challenge.
Despite clocking a slower time of 10.20 seconds than he did in Eugene on the weekend, Magakwe produced a more competitive performance. While he had crossed the line in 10.13 in his previous Diamond League outing, he only ended last in that race.
The multiple SA champion was sixth in Rome and just 0.29 seconds behind American world leader Justin Gatlin who won in 9.91.
Johan Cronje, who admitted before the event he was battling fatigue, settled for eighth place in the men’s 1 500m race in 3:34.90. Kenyan Silas Kiplagat grabbed the win in 3:30.44.
Fellow middle-distance runner Caster Semenya fell well short of the 2:00.91 performance she needed to be considered for the Commonwealth Games. Entries for the event close on June 12.
Semenya trailed home in 10th place in 2:02.66. She was more than seven seconds off her five-year-old national record.
Meanwhile discus thrower Victor Hogan ended 10th in his event with a second-round effort of 59.22 metres. He was eliminated after three rounds, falling nearly three metres short of the midway cut.
The next Diamond League meeting will be held in Oslo, Norway, on 11 June.
