Showing posts with label Guangzhou. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Guangzhou. Show all posts
Monday, 12 May 2025
SIMBINE GETS HIS WORLD RELAYS GOLD AT LAST ON HISTORIC NIGHT FOR SOUTH AFRICA
Akani Simbine and his Olympic silver medal band conquered the planet as they won the men’s 4x100m to kick-start a magical night at the World Relays in Guangzhou, China, on Sunday as South Africa landed two golds and a bronze.
The men’s 4x400m team featuring two schoolboys with experienced Zakithi Nene on the final leg stormed to victory in a 2 min 57.50 sec world lead and Zeney Geldenhuys anchored the women’s 4x400m to bronze in a 3:24.84 national record
South Africa has downplayed relays for years, but they sent four teams to China and all qualified for the world championships in Tokyo later this year, and three made the podium. South Africa has won relay medals over the years, but never three at a global competition.
But it nearly started with a disaster in the 4x100m when Bayanda Walaza, the under-20 world 100m and 200m champion, was flagged for a false start.
Walaza was disqualified for that exact offence in the 200m final at the recent national championships in Potchefstroom, but a green flag gave him and his cohorts a lifeline and the 19-year-old made no mistake as he attacked in lane eight.
Sinesipho Dambile, the only new face from the Paris Olympics, was solid down the back straight before handing the baton to Bradley Nkoana and when he passed it to Simbine the US were in front.
American Brandon Hicklin had a clear lead, but Simbine, one of the all-time greats of anchor-leg running, hunted him down, taking him just before the line as he clocked a 37.61 sec world lead to claim victory by five-hundredths of a second.
Canada, the Olympic champions, were third in 38.11.
Simbine’s run was reminiscent of his lightning bolt effort to give South Africa an ill-fated gold at the 2021 World Relays in Poland, a medal the team was forced to return after one of the members, Thando Dlodlo, failed a doping test.
It’s taken four years to get into a position to take another shot at a World Relays gold and Simbine wasn’t going to miss out again.
The men’s 4x400m outfit, runners-up last year, stepped up to the top of the podium with a great all-round effort on Sunday.
Gardeo Isaacs went around the first lap in 45.39, and then matric pupil Udeme Okon, the 2024 under-20 world 400m champion, delivered a well-paced second lap in 44.24 before fellow schoolboy Leendert Koekemoer, the youngest in the team at 17, pulled the team into first place with a final burst on the home straight, completing his leg in 44.23.
Nene closed it out with an impressive 43.64.
In the women’s 4x400m Shirley Nekhuibui started, handing over to Miranda Coetzee and Precious Molepo before Zeney van der Walt defended South Africa’s position to claim a historic gong, only 12-hundredths behind the second-placed US.
And the South African mixed 4x400m team ended fifth in their final, clocking 3:16.29.
With the performances on Sunday, it’s hard to imagine South Africa’s eight-year world championship medal drought extending beyond the Japan showpiece in September.
The last time they won world championship silverware was at London 2017, missing out three times in a row at Doha 2019, Eugene 2022 and Budapest 2023.
- David Isaacson
Sunday, 11 May 2025
BREAKING | IRISH WOMENS 4X400M BOOK PLACE AT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS WITH COMMANDING PERFORMANCE IN CHINA
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| Sophie Becker, Rachel McCann, Sharlene Mawdsley and Rhasidat Adeleke after winning the women's 4x400m World Championship Qualifying Round 2 |
The Irish women’s 4x400m team of Sophie Becker, Rhasidat Adeleke, Rachel McCann and Sharlene Mawdsley secured qualification for the Tokyo World Championships with a commanding performance to win their second qualification round in Guangzhou, China today.
Mawdsley produced another foot-perfect anchor leg to carry them to victory in 3:24.69 ahead of Australia (3:27.31) and Switzerland (3:32.37), leaving them with an overall 12th-place finish.
“The girls put me in a great position and I love to chase,” said Mawdsley. “It was a smart run and I’m really happy to be getting that experience early in the season as what happened in Paris, I really don’t want that to happen again – so it’s all about learning and looking forward to the rest of the summer.”
Without Adeleke and Mawdsley in the first round yesterday – while the duo focused on the mixed 4x400m – the women’s team came up just shy of a place in the final, finishing third in the first round. That meant they had to secure a top-three finish in today’s second round to book their place in Tokyo, which looked a facile task given the calibre in their ranks.
Becker produced another superb opening leg, splitting 51.41 out of the blocks to hand over to Adeleke close to the front. The Dubliner coasted through the opening half of her leg before turning on the jets and handing over to McCann in front after a 50.38-second leg. McCann ran well through the opening 300m then tied up slightly in the home straight, splitting 52.89, leaving Mawdsley to stalk Australia’s Alanah Yukich on the anchor leg, with the Tipperary native launching her attack on the crown of the final bend and coming home almost three seconds clear.
“I think we have solidified ourselves as one of the best relays in the world and we’re just continuing that on,” said Adeleke. “I’m really excited to see what we can do at the World Championships now that we’re qualified. We’re building, I’m building every race and getting back into shape and I’m really excited to see what this season holds for all of us – individually and as a team.”
Following the mixed 4x400m qualification on Saturday, it means Ireland will be represented in two relays at the World Championships in Tokyo.
The men’s 4x400m team of Conor Kelly, Cillín Greene, Chris O’Donnell and Jack Raftery came up short of reaching Tokyo after finishing seventh in the second qualification round in 3:04.42.
“We did find it tough out there, we’d have liked to do better but it’s a very, very strong standard – there’s zero weak teams out there,” said O’Donnell. “To put the progress into perspective, we didn’t qualify last year, we haven’t been here in 10 years. This was the first step – getting here – and we weren’t good enough, there’s no excuses, but next year and the year after, ultimately, we want this team to qualify for the 2028 Olympic Games. We’re better than we were last year and we’ll be better again next year.”
Ireland will also later be in action in the mixed 4x400m final in Guangzhou at 2.03pm Irish time, but the team will be below strength in the absence of Adeleke and Mawdsley.
- Cathal Dennehy
Friday, 28 October 2022
Saturday, 17 September 2022
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