SA leave best for last with Cronje’s bronze

In a slow race that fed into the hands of the national record holder, Cronje tore through the middle of the pack to finish third in the men’s 1 500m final in 3:36.83, bagging the country’s only medal at the event.

Cronje was 0.05 seconds behind silver medallist Matt Centrowitz of the United States, with Kenyan Asbel Kiprop dominating from start to finish to successfully defend his title in 3:36.28.

Cronje became the first South African, man or woman, to win a major global medal in the metric mile.

Meanwhile, Sunette Viljoen finished sixth in the women’s javelin throw final, launching a 63.58m effort with her first attempt.

Viljoen, the African record holder, was unable to improve on that effort with her next five throws, with Christina Obergfoll of Germany winning gold after a best heave of 69.09m.

It was an otherwise relatively disappointing showing by Team South Africa, producing their worst performance since they failed to win a medal at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka.

Victor Hogan finished a surprise fifth in the men’s discus throw final. Ranked 19th in the world this season, the 24-year-old launched a 64.35m effort to finish within 84cm of the bronze medal.

Anaso Jobodwana again proved his immense talent with a remarkably consistent showing.

Jobodwana clocked 10.17 seconds in the heats and the semi-finals of the men’s 100m sprint.

He then timed 20.17 in the heats and matched his personal best of 20.13 in the 200m semifinals, going on to finish sixth in the final in 20.14, narrowly missing out on the bronze medal in a blanket finish.

Willem Coertzen had been the only shining light over the first few days of competition at the biennial showpiece, smashing the African decathlon record to finish ninth with 8 343 points.