The South African duo of Zeney Geldenhuys and Rogail Joseph narrowly missed out on the Olympics women’s 400m hurdles final after finishing third in their semis on Monday.
Geldenhuys and Joseph both ran personal best times of 53.90 and 54.12 respectively, but had to wait for the third semi-final to know whether they would be advancing to the final.
Unfortunately, they were eliminated after Jamaica’s Shiann Salmon and Canada’s Savannah Sutherland posted faster times as they finished the last semi-final in third and fourth place.
Femke Bol of the Netherlands, and the United States’ Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone are the favourites to go all the way and claim the gold medal in the final.
McLaughlin-Levrone posted a fast time of 52.13, while Bol was equally impressive as she ran 52.57.
Lythe Pillay and Zakithi Nene off the pace in 400m semis
Having qualified for this race via the repechage, Team SA’s Lythe Pillay was way off the pace as he finished last in the second men’s 800m semi-final on the night in a time of 45.24.
🏃♂️Lythe Pillay finished 8th in the Men’s 400m semi-final and did not advance to the finals. 🏃♂️#TeamSA #ForMyCountry #Olympics pic.twitter.com/otqvD78mjW
— Team South Africa (@OfficialTeamRSA) August 6, 2024
Kirani James, the gold medal winner from the 2012 London Olympics won the heat in a comfortable 43.78, while Zambia’s Muzala Samukonga secured the other automatic qualification spot for the final.
In the other semi-final, Zakithi Nene looked good when the runners came up to the first corner, but he was not able to stay up to speed and ultimately finished sixth to also be eliminated.
Zakithi Nene placed 6th in the men's 400m semi-final and did not qualify for the finals. 🏃♂️#TeamSA #ForMyCountry #Olympics pic.twitter.com/uGlJQbWD4e
Great Britain’s Matthew Hudson-Smith claimed top honours in the race, with Michael Norman of the United States in second.
Mixed day on the track for Team SA
It was a good day for the other South Africans who were in action on Tuesday.
In the women’s 400m repechage, Miranda Coetzee clocked a personal best of 50.66 to finish second and book her place in the semi-final.
Unfortunately, Benjamin Richardson, who pulled up with a hamstring injury in his men’s 200m heat on Monday night, will play no further part in the Games after withdrawing from the repechage.
Dusi king flies the SA flag in Paris
Dusi icon Andrew Birkett was partnered up with Hamish Lovemore and the two got the job done in men’s kayak, double 500m heats.
They finished fourth in the heats to progress to the quarter-finals. They then managed second place in the quarters to move on to the semis
In the women’s kayak, the South African pair of Tiffany Koch and Esti Olivier did just enough in the heats to progress to the quarter-finals, but that’s as far as they got.
In the quarters, they finished sixth in their heat in a time of 1:46.40 and were eliminated.
Climbers struggle
Lauren Mukheibir’s challenge in the women’s boulder and lead semi-finals ended after she placed 20th.
Joshua Bruyns was also eliminated from the men’s speed qualification after placing 13th nd going on to tackle Amir Maimuratov of Kazakhstan in the heats.
IOL Sport