Great start for Ashleigh Buhai, but Wayde van Niekerk crashes out in Paris

Ashleigh Buhai led the charge on Wednesday, as South African athletes kept their hopes alive in multiple sports, on day 12 of the Olympic Games in Paris.

Buhai, a former British Open champion, got off to a great start in the women’s golf tournament, firing a 68 in the first round to settle in second place on four-under par. She was three shots behind leader Celine Boutier of France.

Paula Reto, the other South African in the field, was well off the pace on six-over (78). She was in a tie for 50th position.

Van Niekerk eliminated

Elsewhere at the Paris Games on Wednesday, on the track, Shaun Maswanganyi took fourth position in his 200m semifinal in 20.42, missing out on a spot in the final by 0.11, while former Olympic 400m champion Wayde van Niekerk settled in a tie for seventh place in his half-lap race in 20.72.

Van Niekerk and Maswanganyi were expected to return to the track, however, for relay races over the next few days.

Earlier, in the morning session, Jo-Ane van Dyk delivered a personal best of 64.22m with her first attempt in the qualifying round of the women’s javelin throw, progressing to the final to be held on Saturday.

In the men’s high jump qualifiers, rising star Brian Raats cleared 2.24m, with the 20-year-old athlete also securing his spot in Saturday’s final.

And middle-distance runner Edmund du Plessis did well to take second place in his 800m heat in 1:45.73, skipping the repechage round and booking a place in tomorrow’s semifinals.

In the women’s 100m hurdles, national record holder Marione Fourie was not at her best, finishing fourth in her heat in 12.91 seconds. She was relegated to the repechage to be held this morning (10.35am).

Other sports

Meanwhile, paddler Hamish Lovemore put up a fight in the men’s kayak singles quarterfinals, taking second position in his heat in 3:36.64. He was rewarded for his efforts with a place in the semifinals to be held on Saturday.

And there was success for diver Julia Vincent, who was 13th overall in the women’s 3m springboard preliminary round with 283.50 points, booking her place in the semifinals to be contested on Thursday morning (10am).