Samaai, Visser into long jump final

After a first no jump, Visser launched himself to 7.99 metres, exceeding the automatic distance by nine centimetres and heading the group B contenders.

Olympic gold medallist Greg Rutherford of England leapt 8.05m and was the only person to better Samaai’s mark of 8.03m in group A.

South African men’s 800m ace Andre Olivier finished first in his heat in a time of one minute, 47.93 seconds (1:47.93).

World record holder David Rudisha made light work of qualifying for Wednesday’s final recording 1:46.89 in the first heat of the two-lap race.

South African mountain bikers failed to match their rankings in the cross-country on Tuesday.

Despite a fall in training prior to the six-lap cross-country cycle, Meriske Strauss finished 10th in a time of 1:47:17.

The 23-year-old from Durbanville lost ground in the first lap as a result of a crash among the early chase bunch.

“Halfway through the first lap there was a crash just ahead of me, allowing the lead girls to pull away,” said Strauss.

“It was a mission trying to catch back but I gave it my all and ended tenth, and 10th was my best today.”

Meanwhile, after a first lap in sixth place Philip Buys dropped back down the field to finish 13th in the men’s race in a time of 1:48:34.

– Sapa