Category: News

Akani Simbine proved on Saturday at a league meeting at the University of Pretoria that it is just a matter of time before he breaks through the magical 10 second barrier when he won the 100 metres in 10.06 seconds.

In the history of South African athletics only five athletes were able to run the 100 metres in a time faster than 10.10s.

South Africa’s most significant sprinting highlight was undoubtedly when Simon Magakwe won the 100 metres in 9.98s at the national championships last year, becoming the first South African to break 10 seconds.  Simbine finished second in the same race in a time of 10.02s.

Johan Rossouw (10.06 in 1988), Matthew Quin (10.08s in 1999) and Sherwin Vries (10.08s in 2003) are the only other sprinters who were able to run faster than 10.10s.

Unfortunately for the hpc/Tuks sponsored athlete, the wind from behind (2.6 metres/second) was too strong on Saturday for his time to be officially recognized by the statisticians. Simbine won the 200m in a personal best time of 20.35s, but again the wind from behind (2.1 metres/second) was too strong.

However, Simbine is undoubtedly in good form at the moment,   especially considering how much he improved on his winning times of the previous weekend on the same track.  Last Saturday he won the 100m in 10.42s and the 200m in 20.76s.

“Getting rid of the rust,” was Simbine’s comment on his first two races for the season. Ever since last year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow Simbine has been struggling with a torn hamstring and some other niggles.

Simbine does not hesitate to describe his 10.06s run as a great confidence booster.

“I now know that I am again capable of running really fast times. Quite honestly, I did not expect to break 10.10s. I would have been satisfied with a time of 10.15s but, when I noticed the time on the stopwatch a few metres from the finish, I accelerated a bit and dipped towards the line. My time was 10.07s at first, but it was rounded off to 10.06s. I knew immediately that it was not going to be official because I could feel the wind from behind.”

Since achieving a time of 10.02s last year, Simbine had to answer the question of when he was going to break through the 10 second barrier on countless occasions.  His answer remained the same.

“I know I am capable of running times faster than 10 seconds, but I am not going to become obsessive about it. My body will tell me when it is time to do so.  Once I have done it, it will be important to keep on running times faster than 10s.  I would be very disappointed if it should turn out to be merely a one-off happening.”

Simbine hopes for another fast performance during the Gauteng North Championships at Tuks this weekend.

Russel Tucker won the discus on Saturday with a distance of 60.87m.                        

The Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) will once again host the annual Bonitas Comrades Expo at the Durban Exhibition Centre in May.

The three-day Expo is the largest running-related exhibition in South Africa, with more than 100 exhibitors, showcasing the latest in running-gear, nutrition, technology and more.

With over 50,000 visitors attending last year’s Expo, the event has become a highlight on the Durban exhibition calendar; and caters for every kind of runner and sporting enthusiast.

So whether you are a novice or veteran runner, the Comrades Expo is not to be missed. This is the meeting place for athletes from around South Africa and the globe before their big race on Sunday, 31 May 2015. It is a space where stories are shared, advice is swopped and pre-race nerves are quelled.

The Durban leg of the Comrades Athlete Registration process is a major facet of the Expo. Runners who have opted to do their Comrades registration in Durban can collect their race numbers here as well as their goodie bags, New Balance Comrades runner tee, Nedbank Comrades headgear; in addition to the 90^th commemorative Comrades watch if they’ve ordered one.

Comrades Coach Lindsey Parry and other running professionals will also be on hand to offer advice and support. Entrance is free. Be part of the Comrades experience by visiting the Durban Exhibition Centre between the 28^th and 30^th of May 2015 between 09h00 and 19h00 on Thursday and Friday; and 09h00 to 17h00 on Saturday.

Race Director Rowyn James says, “In line with our 90^th Comrades Marathon celebrations, our three-day Expo is going to be an exciting and memorable experience. We invite you to be part of it.”

For more info, please call Comrades Marathon House on 033 897 8650.

NOTE: The Pietermaritzburg Athlete Registration will be hosted simultaneously at Comrades Marathon House at 18 Connaught Road, Scottsville.

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Records are meant to be broken and the older the record, the more reason to break it. This is why Carina Horn, former national champion, is back in the country from Austria to compete in the South African Athletics Championships in Stellenbosch (17-18 April) for the first time in three years.

Horn, an athlete from Tuks Athletics, has her sights firmly set on Evette de Klerk’s South African 100m record (11.06s), one of the oldest records in South African athletics. De Klerk’s record breaking-performance took place on 20 April 1990 in Germiston. Since then only Geraldine Pillay came close to improving on it when she ran 11.07s in 2005 in Durban.

During the past few seasons South Africa’s female sprinters have run ‘pedestrian’ times compared to what was happening in international athletics. However, Horn started what will hopefully be the revival of South African women’s sprinting last year when she ran times of 11.21s, 11.17s and 11.16s in European meetings. This means that she is currently the fourth fastest ever local sprinter.
When competing in European indoor meetings this season, Horn has shown that she is in good form. Of the five races in which she competed she won two and finished second twice. There was only one little mishap to which her brother refers as her ‘super glue’ race because it seemed to him as if she got stuck in her starting blocks.

More important is that Horn has twice improved her own SA 60m record by running times of 7.21s in Dusseldorf and 7.20s in Berlin. Horn is quick to point out that there is no guarantee that she will be able to improve on De Klerk’s 11.06s record. “If the weather plays along I will certainly come close to doing so, but the weather in Stellenbosch can be very unpredictable. However, if the conditions are perfect during the heats I will certainly attempt to go for the record.”

When Horn left South Africa to train in Linz under the guidance of Rainer Schopf, her best time in the 100m was 11.59s. She has since improved by 0.43s. “The reason for this improvement is that, for the first time, I am being coached to focus on the right things. Rainer keeps emphasizing that the 100m is a very technical race and he has me working on small technical details for hours on end to help me to become faster.

“For example, we will spend an entire training day on just my first step out of the starting blocks. Rainer is not a believer in more is better. While training for the indoor season I never ran farther than 60 metres and now, in the build-up to SA’s, I don’t think I will run farther than 80 metres.
“I think our decision that I will run only the 100m sprint, will also make a difference. Training for the 200 metres is something totally different.”

Horn’s dedication to becoming South Africa’s fastest woman can perhaps be best explained by the following quote from Arnold Schwarzenegger: “The worst thing I can be is the same as everybody else. I hate that.” According to Horn, who is a big fan of Schwarzenegger, she does not want to be remembered as just another talented sprinter when she could be remembered as South Africa’s best sprinter.

By breaking one of South Africa’s oldest athletic records at an Athletics Gauteng Meeting at Tuks on Saturday, Lebogang Shange proved that he is a man of his word.

Shange won the 3000m walk in a time of 11 minutes and 20.39 seconds, nearly seven seconds faster than the previous record of 11:27.20 that was set by Chris Britz in 1989.

As early as January the High Performance Centre (hpc) athlete confidently told anybody who was prepared to listen that he was going to break the South African records held by his coach, Chris Britz, and he reiterated on Friday afternoon that the 3000m record was going to be his.

“It is amazing that I was able to do what I had set out to achieve. This is hopefully the first of many records. I intend to go for the 5000m walk record next year.  The year after that I will try to break the record in the 10 000m, followed by the 20 000m record. The secret of being constantly successful is to try not to be too greedy. That is why I will focus on one goal at a time. I am planning to be a competitive walker for a long time to come. If my body holds up I will only retire at 42,” the 25-year-old said.

Shange will leave for Switzerland tomorrow where he will compete in the 20km walk on Sunday.

LJ van Zyl (Tuks and hpc) was the other athlete who had reason to smile on Saturday. He won the 400-hurdles in a time of 49.42s, which means that he has qualified for the World Championships in Beijing. Wouter le Roux was second in 49.87s.

“My winning time is not a true reflection of what I am capable of at the moment. I purposely did not run flat out.  If I did I would probably have run a time faster than 49s.  It was the first time this season that I competed in a 400-hurdles race and it was the confidence booster I needed.  It is my fastest season opener in four years for the 400-hurdles.”

Van Zyl will compete in the 400-hurdles again on 19 March in Sasolburg and he hopes to go faster than 49 seconds then.

Akani Simbine (Tuks and hpc), who competed for the first time after having been side-lined with an injury for a long time, won the 100m in 10.42s and the 200m in 20.76s.

“I am satisfied. I just wanted to get a feel for racing again and get the ‘rust’ out of my system before I start gunning for faster times.”

Wenda Nel, the South African 400-hurdles champion, won the 400m in 52.43s.

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Have fun! 

Venue: Alto Wine Estate, Annandale Road, Stellenbosch (about 1km from Mooiberge/Thirsty Scare Crow)

What could be more pleasant than running on a warm summer night on one of our country’s oldest most beautiful and celebrated red wine estates. Being an avid trail runner, I was a bit reluctant at first because there were only two short distances on offer, 8 and 5km…

Turned out to be quite challenging: The first half of the route is steep and relentless uphill running (all on jeeptrack) and greeted at the top with a well deserved picturesque sunset view of the Helderberg Valley.

You will get a killer workout and it was quite the exercise to prevent yourself from tripping and stumbling with the fast descent.
Our post race treat: Live music with good red wine and cheese platters. Excellent venue and great organizing by Amoija Events.

This past weekend Jeep Team’s athletes claimed podiums across the country, with Hank McGregor winning the FNB Varsity College Surfski Series, OCR’s Thomas van Tonder and Hlubi Mboya dominating the Jeep Warrior Series and rising multisport star, Mikaela Jonsson, securing a Silver medal at the South African Triathlon Championships.

Obstacle Course Racing

Jeep Team’s Thomas van Tonder claimed his second consecutive 2015 Jeep Warrior Black Ops Elite victory on Saturday, winning Race#2 of the eight-race series in 1h14mins, ahead of Greg Avierinos (second) and Louis Smit (third). Jay Jay Deysel, who finished second in the first event, fought hard for his seventh place finish after a week of illness leading up to the race.

Said Van Tonder after finishing, “It was a very high intensity race, as the Warrior Series always is. It feels great to have two wins in a row. Hopefully I can keep up the pace!”

Jeep Team’s “Ghost Athlete”, the talented actress, DJ and sports woman, Hlubi Mboya, also did exceptionally well, winning her second Warrior race of the season in the Women’s 10-km Commando event.

Multisport

In the Eastern Cape, 17-year-old Mikaela Jonsson fought hard to secure a Silver medal in her age category at the SA Triathlon Championships, which took place in Buffalo City on Sunday.

The event was a qualifier for the SA Triathlon Team, with Jonsson now waiting to hear whether she has been selected to compete in the ITU World Triathlon Grand Finale, happening from 15 – 20 September 2015 in the United States.

Paddling

World-class paddler Hank McGregor has won the 2015 FNB Varsity College Marine Surfski Series for the second year running.

While there are still two races left in the series, McGregor’s fourth consecutive victory in Friday evening’s IT Works Surfski Challenge saw him secure the series title ahead of Matthew Bouman (who McGregor shared the 2014 title with).

Said McGregor, “I got the news once I got off the water and I’m stoked to have won the title again! It’s always nice to be racing neck and neck with Matthew (Bouman), he’s a top class athlete and deserved last year’s title just as much as I did but it was nice for me to be able to come back this year and get the win.”

Jeep Team’s Barry Lewin placed fifth in last week’s challenge, behind Bouman (second), Wade Krieger (third) and talented U-18 paddler Bailey de Fondaumiere (fourth).

Cycling

On Saturday, Jeep Team’s Thinus Redelinghuys secured second-place after a thrilling sprint finish against Allen Britnell at Race#1 of the USN Mountain Bike Cup Series. Britnell’s winning time was a fast 1h46mins, with Redelinghuys just one second behind and Guylin van der Berg in third.

Jeep Team’s Dylan Rebello faced fierce competition to secure a sixth place finish in category (U23) at the season-opening event of the Stihl 2015 SA MTB XCO Cup Series, which took place in Port Elizabeth on Saturday. Rebello was racing against South Africa’s top cross-country specialists, who were out in full force to earn UCI points ahead of 2016 Rio Olympics selection.

The Hyundai Rock The Run is back on Sunday 1 March 2015 and it’s bigger and better than before. Modern Athlete chatted to Pascalle Gerrard, Assistant Marketing Manager at Hyundai, about the event’s appeal and what makes it a fun day out for all.

What makes the 2015 edition different?

We learnt a lot from last year’s first introduction. With the 21km and 10km, we were limiting the whole family taking part so we have introduced a 5km this year so the kids can get involved, too. It’s about everyone enjoying themselves. The route has also changed up a bit as we were limited to playing music in the suburbs last year. Now, the route goes along a more industrial part of Sandton.

What was the initial idea behind the event? Have you noticed a trend in the SA market for events that promote fitness in an alternative way?

Hyundai wants to create an iconic and unique event to Jo’burg – one that appeals to the masses. We want everyone to come out, challenge themselves and have fun. We wanted to have an event focused on our love for music, especially local musicians. As a brand, Hyundai is very innovative and we want to be involved in anything that separates us from the crowd. It’s a new way to keep active and it was very popular in 2014 because we created a whole day from it with the music element.

For your competitive runners, your site hosts expert training advice and programmes and there are great incentives for category winners – is it also about turning the event into a must-do for some of the country’s top athletes?

We actually hope to make the event a benchmark for the top runners in South Africa. We want to see the event being used by top runners to prepare for their season. Our main focus is that we are giving people a chance to run in the heart of Sandton and also experience local acts that are so diverse. And their entry fee is all part of the rest of the day’s festivities.

Speaking of, the music line-up for 2015 also brings about a variety for every type of music fan in Matthew Mole, Mango Groove and Micasa – was the music and supporting local acts the initial idea behind the planning?

All the acts appeal to a broad audience. Runners can come with family and friends. It’s a chance to keep active, the route is challenging enough in itself and then you can stay around for all the entertainment and have some food and refreshments. The artists were also very excited about getting involved in the day!

The Sports Trust and the IMPERIAL Road Safety are the event’s charities – can you explain the relationship & why it was chosen? How can competitors get involved?

Imperial Road Safety is an important relationship for us because at Hyundai our main focus is on road safety for our customer so it definitely fits well with us. A portion of the runner’s entry fee will be given to them as well as The Sports Trust which ensures that all South Africans have an opportunity to partake in sport. We’ve been involved in sport for many years, across so many fields so it was an easy decision for us.

What are your goals for this race on the SA running calendar in the future?

We want to solidify the race on the South African running calendar – one that caters for family and one for the pros. We want to make it an annual event that becomes well-known and established. As we go through, we will improve on the experience and give runners the best experience we can.

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