Sekgodiso fades, Richardson pulls up on tough night for SA athletes

Middle-distance runner Prudence Sekgodiso faded down the home straight and sprinter Benjamin Richardson pulled up with an apparent hamstring injury, in what was a tough session on the track for the national team at the Olympic Games in Paris on Monday night.

Making her debut in a major global final, 22-year-old Sekgodiso had been tipped as a potential 800m medallist after she enjoyed a breakthrough season. And while she was well placed around the final bend, she lost a lot of ground in the dash for the line.

Sekgodiso took eighth place in 1:58.79, with Keely Hodgkinson of Great Britain winning gold in 1:56.72.

Richardson in doubt

Earlier, there was a blow for the SA relay team’s medal hopes after 20-year-old national champion Richardson pulled up during his 200m heat with what looked to be a hamstring injury. He seemed to be in control off the bend before grabbing the back of his leg.

It was unclear whether Richardson (who narrowly missed out on a spot in the 100m final on Sunday) would compete in the 200m repechage round today, or if he would be available for the 4x100m relay heats on Thursday or the final on Friday.

While he was in doubt, however, there was no such trouble for fellow sprinters Shaun Maswanganyi and Wayde van Niekerk, who progressed automatically to the 200m semifinals.

Van Niekerk, a former Olympic 400m champion and World Championships 200m medallist, finished third in his half-lap heat in 20.42 seconds, avoiding the repechage round today.

Maswanganyi also kept his hopes alive, taking third position in his race in 20.20 and joining Van Niekerk in the penultimate round.

“I know there’s still a bit of work that needs to be done in the latter stages of the race,” Van Niekerk admitted.

“But we’ll shake that off and try again in the next round. I was a bit rusty in the first round and I know I can do better.”

In the morning session on Monday, 400m sprinters Zakithi Nene (44.81) and Lythe Pillay (45.40) won their repechage races, booking their spots in the semifinals to be held at 7.35pm on Tuesday night.

Other events

Elsewhere, Mel Janse van Rensburg ended in a tie for 19th position in the men’s boulder semifinals, and he was eliminated ahead of the final.

In the women’s speed climbing seeding heats, Aniya Holder settled for 14th place in a personal best 9.12 seconds.

Drawn against world record holder Aleksandra Miroslaw of Poland in the elimination round, Holder was knocked out after reaching the top in 9.36, well off the pace of her opponent who finished in 6.10.