It was an emotional day of farewells and surprises on Saturday, because the SA Senior Track and Field Championships got here to a detailed at Green Point Stadium in Cape Town.
Farewell Wenda
It wasn’t the fairytale ending she may need needed, however Wenda Nel was clearly overwhelmed with emotion after grabbing the silver medal within the girls’s 400m hurdles ultimate.
The 33-year-old Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, aiming for her tenth nationwide title earlier than she retires on the finish of the season took second place in 56.08 seconds.
Though rising star Zeney van der Walt received gold in 55.75, Nel obtained an ovation from the group earlier than coming into a huddle along with her opponents and becoming a member of them in a bunch wave.
“It’s a bittter-sweet feeling. I wanted the 10th title but I knew it would be a tough one. I’m very emotional and extremely happy.”
Less fanfare
Like Nel, race walker Wayne Snyman most likely made his final look on the nationwide championships.
Unlike Nel, he did it in a close to empty stadium within the males’s 20km stroll, which was held within the morning session.
Snyman accomplished the race in 1:28:46 to safe his sixth SA title within the occasion, because the 37-year-old college instructor gears up for his ultimate marketing campaign on the worldwide circuit.
Munyai surprised
National document holder Clarence Munyai entered the blocks because the agency favorite within the males’s 200m ultimate after dominating the preliminary rounds and exhibiting high quality kind this season.
He was overwhelmed to the road, nevertheless, by 20-year-old Sinesipho Dambile, who received in 20.55, with Munyai settling for second place in 20.63, in one of many largest upsets of the home showpiece.
Semenya units tempo
Three-time 800m world champion Caster Semenya, who had completed second within the girls’s 5 000m ultimate two days earlier, turned out in her first 10 000m race. But she didn’t end.
Setting the tempo for coaching companion Glenrose Xaba, Semenya pulled out on the 6 000m mark, and Xaba went on to win gold in 32:31.49.
