Track and field athletes lead the charge on day 12 for Team SA

Track and field athletes produced standout performances for Team South Africa on Wednesday, along with paddler Hamish Lovemore, as they kept their hopes alive on the 12th day of competition at the Paris Olympics.

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).

Later on Wednesday night, former Olympic 400m champion Wayde van Niekerk and fellow sprinter Shaun Maswanganyi were set to compete in the men’s 200m semifinals at 8pm (in search of places in Thursday’s final), while Miranda Coetzee was geared up to compete in the women’s 400m semifinals at 8.45pm.

Other events

Elsewhere at the Paris Games on Wednesday, on the water, 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.

Andrew Birkett, who turned out in the same race as his compatriot, was third in 3:38.11 and was knocked out of contention.

In the women’s kayak singles, Esti Olivier settled for sixth position in her quarterfinal race in 1:53.21 and Tiffany Koch was also sixth in her heat in 1:56.81.Meanwhile, climber Mel Janse van Rensburg ended 20th in the men’s lead semifinals and did not progress to the final.

Veteran skateboarder Dallas Oberholzer finished 22nd in the men’s park prelims and track cyclist Jean Spies was 29th overall in the qualifying round of the men’s sprint.

Oberholzer and Spies were both eliminated from their events.