The American Fred Kerley set the fastest heat time in major competition history with a 9.79sec timing in his 100m heat at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
Team SA’s Akani Simbine qualified for the next stage after finishing fourth in his heat in 10.07. His heat was won by Letsile Tebogo of Botswana, who broke the world U20 record with a 9.94 run.
In Heat 6, Team SA’s Gift Leotlela placed fifth in 10.19 and did not progress to the next round. His heat was won by the American Christian Coleman in 10.08, with Andre De Grasse second in 10.12.
In Heat 7, Clarence Munyai placed seventh in 10.47 and didn’t qualify for the next round. The heat was won by Japan’s Abdul Hakim Sani Brown in 9.98.
A host of African athletes struggled to obtain visas to enter America. They included Kenyan Ferdinand Omanyala, who obtained his less than 24 hours before the start of the World Championships.
Omanyala, the fastest man in Africa, had very little time to prepare and yet still managed to finish third in his heat – in which Munyai also raced – in 10.10 and qualified for the next round.
Wayne Snyman took to the streets in the men’s 15km road walking final and he placed 12th in 1hr 21min 23sec. The gold medal was won by Japan’s Toshikazu Yamanishi in 1:19.07.
In the women’s shot put qualification, Ishke Senekal had a distance of 15.40m and placed 29th overall, missing out on a place in the final.
In the men’s long jump qualification, Team SA’s Ruswahl Samaai leapt to a season’s best distance of 7.86m, but that left him 15th overall and out of the top 12 who headed to the final. Jovan van Vuuren had a distance of 7.80m, also missing out on a place on the final, while Cheswill Johnson had a no measure.
In the mixed relay 4x400m heats, Team SA was registered as a did not start after encountering visa problems in entering the United States.