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SA records fell in the women's hammer throw and 4x400m relay events.
Karabo Letebele after winning the 100m sprint at the ASA Grand Prix. Picture: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images
Though there were record-breaking performances on Wednesday, junior sprinter Karabo Letebele stole the show, scorching to victory in the men’s 100m sprint at the ASA Grand Prix athletics meeting in Pretoria.
Letebele took the short dash in 10.19 seconds, with the 18-year-old sprinter delivering a superb performance as he held off Emile Erasmus, who was edged into second place after being credited with the same time.
Further back, in perhaps the surprise result of the event, African record holder Ferdinand Omanyala of Kenya settled for third place in 10.22.
Letebele, who matriculated last year from Hoërskool Transvalia in Vanderbijlpark, admitted he was stunned to have beaten Omanyala, who holds a personal best of 9.77.
“I didn’t expect to beat him. I thought he was going to run under 10 seconds, so I just told myself to execute my own race, go through my phases and I’ll be fine,” Letebele said after the race.
Meanwhile in other disciplines, Leandri Holtzhausen broke her own South Africa record in the women’s hammer throw competition.
Holtzhausen landed the hammer at 67.95 metres, shattering her national mark of 66.54m which was set at a Central Gauteng Athletics league meeting in Germiston in February.
There was also a South African record in the women’s 4x400m relay event, with Shirley Nekhubui, Miranda Coetzee, Marlie Viljoen and Zeney Geldenhuys combining to stop the clock at 3:28.30.
They took 0.19 off the national mark of 3:28.49 which was set by Caster Semenya, Jeanelle Griessel, Wenda Nel and Justine Palframan at the African Athletics Championships in Durban in 2016.
In other disciplines, Prudence Sekgodiso won the women’s 800m event, with a late change in the programme seeing the 1500m race being scratched and forcing her to turn out over her specialist two-lap distance for the first time on the outdoor circuit this season.
Sekgodiso, who reached the Olympic final in Paris last year, secured victory in 1:59.01, with her training partner Oratile Nowe hanging on for a new Botswana national record in 1:59.46.
Marione Fourie stormed to victory in the women’s 100m hurdles race in 12.77 seconds and junior athlete Njabulo Mbatha won the men’s 400m hurdles contest in 49.40.
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