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How Team South Africa Performed on Tuesday

Tanika LaskeyFeatures, NewsLeave a Comment on How Team South Africa Performed on Tuesday

Three sporting codes represent Team SA at the Olympics on Tuesday, although none of them are involved in determining any medals.

Team SA sprinter Benjamin Richardson has been withdrawn from Paris 2024 and will take no further part in these Olympics. In confirming the news, the Team SA chief medical officer Dr Jean de Wilde said: “Benjamin sustained a hamstring injury in the men’s 200m heats on Monday and has been withdrawn from all further competition.”

Athletics: 
Women’s 400m Repechage Round (Heat 2) 
Miranda Coetzee ran her personal best time in the Repechage race, qualifying for the Semi-Final on Tuesday, 7 August.

Men’s 400m Semi Final
Lythe Pillay finished seventh in his Semi-Final race. His position and time were, however, not enough to secure him a spot in the Final.

Men’s 400m Semi Final
Zakithi Nene finished sixth in his Semi-Final race. His position and time were, however, also not enough to secure him a spot in the Final.

Women’s 400m Hurdles Semi Final 1
Zeney Geldenhuys ran her personal best time in her Semi-Final race, finishing third. Her position and time were, however, not enough to secure her a spot in the Final.

Women’s 400m Hurdles Semi Final 2
Rogail Joseph also ran her personal best time in her Semi-Final race, finishing third. Her position and time were, however, not enough to secure her a spot in the Final.

Sport Climbing:
Women’s Boulder & Lead, Semi Final Boulder
Lauren Mukheibir had a challenging start to the competition, finishing 20th overall.

Men’s Speed – Qualification
Joshua Bruyns was eliminated in the Qualification Elimination heats, preventing him from progressing to the Final.

Canoe Sprint:
Men’s Kayak Double 500m Heats
Hamish Lovemore and Andrew Birkett finished second in their Quarter-Final race, securing a position in the Semi-Final.

Women’s Kayak Double 500m Heats
Esti Olivier and Tiffany Amber Koch finished 6th in their Quarter-Final race and did not manage to qualify for the Semi-Final.

From Netballer to Track Star: Miranda Coetzee’s Remarkable Journey to World Championships

Tanika LaskeyFeatures, NewsLeave a Comment on From Netballer to Track Star: Miranda Coetzee’s Remarkable Journey to World Championships

Just four years ago, Miranda Coetzee could never have wrapped her head around the fact that she’d be an international track athlete.

It was only in 2019 that the former netballer decided to take athletics seriously and started training in earnest. Since then, Coetzee has been lowering her personal best times with regularity and is now on the cusp of competing at her second World Athletics Championships.

“To be honest, I never thought that I would make the national team or I would be going to world champs and all that, so I’m very happy with where I am right now,” she admitted.

The PUMA athlete made a statement earlier this year by claiming a 200-400m double at the South African Championships in Potchefstroom – both in personal best times. Since then she’s dipped under the 51-second mark over 400m for the first time this June in Spain. The 25-year-old reckons racing in Europe over the last few months has been an excellent learning experience.

“One thing that I never did before was analysing my races, so having a lot of races in Europe actually helps you see the mistakes that you made in previous races and you’re able to correct them in the next race,” she explained.

“Also being able to compete with people that I will be competing with at world champs gave me a heads up to see where I am. I’m also happy that my times improved a lot.”

Coetzee made her World Championships debut in Oregon last year where she finished 41st overall in the 400m heats after running a time of 53.30. She’ll certainly be looking to improve on that when this year’s championships kick off on Saturday in Budapest.

“Last year I was actually new to everything so everything was a learning experience for me. I was a bit scared, and I wasn’t strong mentally. I’ve learnt to be strong and take each race or competition as it comes, I believe in myself more than I did last year, so I really hope I make a difference this year.”

The World Athletics Championships take place in Budapest from 19-27 August with the women’s 400m heats set to be contested on Sunday morning.