Competing in cold and wet conditions at Coetzenburg Stadium, Luvo Manyonga produced an electric performance on Friday, winning his first national title in seven years on Day 2 of the ASA Senior Track and Field Championships in Stellenbosch.
Manyonga, a former world champion and Olympic long jump silver medallist, won the SA title for the first time since 2019, with the 35-year-old landing at 8.04 metres. The national record holder held off a challenge from Divan Manuel, who bagged the silver medal with a 7.95m leap, while Levi Fick secured bronze with a 7.32m jump.
“This means the world to me. You never write off a person’s dream. As long as the person is still alive, the dream is still alive,” Manyonga said. “Today is the day I’ve been looking for. Last year I came number six in the final and now I’m just jumping to give hope to people and show that whenever you get that chance, you’d better use it.”
In other field events finals, Ryan Williams won the men’s discus throw in 55.62m, and Matao le Roux cleared 2.05m to take the men’s high jump title.
Zinzi Xulu took the women’s triple jump with a best attempt of 12.90m, and former SA record holder Leandri Holtzhausen won gold in the women’s hammer throw with a 67.70m heave. Claiming the crown as South Africa’s most versatile athlete, Enya Pooler won the two-day heptathlon competition after raking in 5 310 points.
In the only track finals on the day, Wernich van Rensburg and Rogail Joseph earned their maiden national titles in the men’s and women’s 400m hurdles. Van Rensburg produced a powerful finish to take the men’s final in 50.05, edging out former national champion Lindukuhle Gora who settled for the runner-up spot in 50.26.
Joseph, an Olympic semi-finalist, dominated the women’s contest to win in 55.94 with former World Athletics U20 Championships medallist Hannah van Niekerk grabbing silver in 56.70.
Photo: The Citizen