Sprint double glory for SA
Sprinters round off Team SA’s busy day on the podium
South African lightning struck the Gold Coast several times on an incredible Monday night‚ with Akani Simbine delivering the last of the blows as he won the 100m crown.
Four golds‚ four silvers and a bronze – eight of them coming from speedsters on the track and in the pool – lifted SA to fifth on the Commonwealth medals table.
Simbine finally bagged the first major medal of his career as he raced to victory in the 100m at the Carrara Stadium, with Henricho Bruintjies taking silver behind him to leave Jamaica’s former world champion Yohan Blake battling for bronze.
Simbine admitted afterwards it was a monkey off his back.
“It’s a medal I knew I could do and I could get … it’s just getting my mind to do it and now I’ve gotten my first international medal‚ my first international title‚ and now it’s just building on that momentum going for more international medals.”
Simbine said he couldn’t remember anything before the 60m mark.
Bruintjies‚ in the lane outside Simbine‚ said his game plan was to pursue his compatriot. “I told him ‘I know you’re going to go out fast and I know you’re going to go for the podium‚ so you have to take me too’.
“So, literally my whole race was Akani. I was just chasing him because I knew if I chase him‚ I’m going to be on the podium.”
They’ll next be in action in the 4x100m relay later in the week.
“I want to take home two golds‚” Simbine said.
SA’s swimmers delivered three golds‚ the most sensational being Cameron van der Burgh’s unexpected triumph in the 50m breaststroke.
The veteran performed the impossible as he downed indomitable Englishman Adam Peaty to win his third consecutive Games 50m breaststroke crown. He touched first in 26.58.
Chad le Clos‚ who won his third Gold Coast gold medal in the 100m butterfly‚ had become only the second man in history – the first since 1974 – to win three Games titles in the 200m butterfly.
Tatjana Schoenmaker, 20, added the 100m breaststroke crown to her 200m gold‚ clocking 1min 06.41sec to break the last of Penny Heyns’s African marks in an Olympic-sized pool.
And Le Clos took his 16th career Games medal by winning the 100m ’fly in a 50.65 championship record.
Dyan Buis and Charl du Toit took silver and bronze in the T38 100m final.
Christian Sadie took silver in the S7 50m freestyle.
The women’s four lawn bowlers had to settle for silver after losing in the final to world champions Australia.