United unfazed by the rain as they move up the Premiership

OCKERT DE VILLIERS

CLARENCE Munyai annihilated the South African 200m record held by Wayde van Niekerk to climb to 10th place on the world all-time list with a time of 19.69 seconds at the SA Track and Field Championships at Tuks Stadium in Pretoria yesterday.

Munyai took a massive 0.15-second chunk off the previous mark Van Niekerk posted in Jamaica last year when he clocked 19.84.

“I knew the conditions were going to be good and I saw from yesterday that people are running really fast times,” Munyai said. “So I told myself to come here and put on a show like they did yesterday.

“I knew I had 19.8 in my legs but when I saw 19.7, I was like, eish, I didn’t expect that.”

Three-time world champion Caster Semenya made short work of her 800m heat, racing to a fast time of 1:58.93.

Semenya made her intentions clear from the start as she went through the first lap in just under a minute in scorching conditions. “It is better to run in the heat because I still have a final tonight in the 1500m and when I go tomorrow in the 800m, I am confident about what I can do,” Semenya said. “It is still early season and we started early, the base was good, so now it is about being consistent about what we do.”

In the next heat, former South African sprinting great Evette de Klerk’s daughter Danette Marais also qualified for today’s 800m final.

De Klerk’s 28-year-old national 100m record was broken on Thursday when Carina Horn shaved 0.03sec off the previous mark posting a time of 11.03. “It is not nice to see the record go because I know how hard I worked on that record but it is good for Carina; she tried for a long time,” De Klerk said.

“If it didn’t happen then you know the standard of athletics is not good, so it was the time for it to be broken.”

De Klerk, who still holds the South African 200m record of 22.06 she set in 1989, said she is concerned about the general standard of female sprinting in the country. “You have a stand out performance here and there but when I set the national record in the 200m I did so barefoot,” De Klerk said.

“We were five athletes that dipped below 23 seconds in that race, so we had a group of athletes that performed.” Justine Palframan and Alyssa Conley are the only athletes that have been able to dip below 23 seconds over the last three years.

Meanwhile, shot put ace Orazio Cremona clinched his seventh national title with a best heave of 20.71m. “I dedicate this to God and also to my family that sacrifice a lot for me, and especially my wife; she hardly sees me and is always calm and collected,” he said.

“This is my third competition of the year. I feel like I am very strong, I missed some good throws out there. It was just that lack of composure and nothing else.” The winning throw was his fourth best in competition and ranks him fourth in the Commonwealth.

Former Commonwealth Games champion Burger Lambrechts Senior, who has been competing since 1994, won the silver medal with a best of 18.67m with Jason van Rooyen bagging bronze with 18.63m. RAIN and a gutsy Polokwane City failed to dampen Maritzburg United’s spirits as they won 2-1 at the Harry Gwala Stadium last night to climb to third in the Absa Premiership.

The Team of Choice scored via Pogiso Sanoka in the first half and Siphesihle Ndlovu in the second to overtake Free State Stars for third place, behind Orlando Pirates and log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns.

The home side were fortunate not to be punished early when the league’s top scorer, Rodney Ramagalela, teed up Puleng Tlolane who blazed his shot over from inside the box in the opening minute. Maritzburg made them pay. Deolin Mekoa’s inswinging corner puzzled Polokwane as Maritzburg fired three attempts before the fourth landed in the net for a seventh minute lead via the boot of defender Sanoka.

Thereafter the rain made for slippery stuff and one late tackle resulted in an early forced change for the Team of Choice. Malawian forward Muhammad Sulumba tripped Maritzburg defender Brian Onyango who was carried off and replaced by Rushine De Reuck.

Maritzburg might have added another goal were it not for a block by goalkeeper George Chigova off striker Andrea Fileccia’s drive.

Polokwane grew into game but were limited to shots from range, with Tlolane the main culprit as he fired high and wide from various angles. His accuracy improved after the interval with two attempts straight to goalkeeper Richard Ofori.

Coming into the game unbeaten in seven league outings – six draws and a win – Polokwane lived up to that form as they took the game to Maritzburg in search of an equaliser.

It meant they left gaps at the back. That made for end to end action and Maritzburg were unlucky not to be awarded a penalty in the 54th minute. Instead referee Eketsang Setloboko gave winger Mekoa a yellow card for diving.

The conditions were more conducive for a swimming meet as the rain bucketed onto the already sodden pitch.

With the pitch rendered into patches by the downpour, Maritzburg struggled to produce their usual pacey passing patterns. Route one it was and that led to the insurance goal in the 75th minute. Ofori’s punt was collected at the other end and guided in by midfielder Ndlovu.