Jordaan sets career record

LEZAAN Jordaan, 16, finished ninth overall and produced a personal best in the women’s shot put final on the opening day of the World Junior Athletics Championships in Barcelona, Spain, on Tuesday.

Jordaan set a career record in the qualifying rounds in the morning with a 15.27m effort.

She improved her distance in the opening round of the final, launching the shot 15.37m to spearhead South Africa’s performance on the first day of the championships.

German athlete Shanice Craft won gold with a distance of 17.15m, while China ’ s Yang Gao and Ka Bian secured silver and bronze.

Jordaan could be one of South Africa’s best prospects at the 2014 global junior championships in Eugene, Oregon, as she will still be eligible to compete in the age group competition.

Meanwhile, Gerhard de Beer qualified for the final of the men’s discus throw after finishing second in his group. De Beer opened with a foul but followed up with distances of 56.74m and 59.01m to progress.

Jan-Louw Kotze failed to qualify for the final, with his best attempt in the second round measured at 55.59m, placing him ninth.

Pieter Conradie was the only South African to reach the semifinals in the men’s 400m after finishing just behind Aldrich Bailey of the US in his heat.

Bailey won the race in 46.40 seconds, with Conradie crossing the line in 46.70. Ruan Greyling’s 47.65 performance was good enough for third place in his heat behind Australian Jarryd Buchan and Alphas Leken Kishoyian from Kenya, but he narrowly missed out on progressing as one of the “fastest losers”.

Duwayne Boer and Mpho Maphuta were unable to book themselves a place in the final of the men’s long jump, with Boer leaping 7.22m in the qualifying rounds and Maphuta failing to record a distance.

Philippa van der Merwe and Nabeela Parker also fell short in the women’s 100m heats. – DUBAI – Diego Maradona was dismissed as manager of Dubai’s Al Wasl football team in a surprise announcement made while the former Argentina captain and coach was on holiday at home, it was confirmed yesterday.

“The club has decided to dispense with the services of Maradona and the entire technical team, after only one season,” a club official said.

The official, who requested anonymity, added that “the decision was taken at a meet-