Van Zyl fails in Glasgow bid
Also worth noting is the likely progression of Andre Olivier to the 800m final where world record holder, David Rushida, is favourite for the gold.
Zarck Visser and Rushwahl Samaai will want to build on their 7.99 and 8.03 jumps that gave automatic qualification to tonight’s final, where they will have to account for England’s Greg Rutherford and Chris Tomlinson, if they are to secure medals. The English duo have been in form recording 8.51 and 8.23 respectively this year, but the on paper the South Africans are right in there with medal potential, particularly given the notoriously fickle nature of field events.
Wayde van Niekerk goes into the 400m final with the second fastest personal best, behind Grenada’s Kirani James, and has a real chance of picking up one of the minor medals. The big question will be over the South Africans ability to recover from this morning's 200m qualifier and getting the focus and pacing correct on the one lapper.
The 22-year-old had a minor scare in the heats when his legs felt heavy over the final 50m, but judging from last night and this morning's qualifiers, Monday’s effort has activated his system after a rest period, putting a medal on the cards.
Andre Olivier should have a safe progression through to Thursday’s 800m final, although tonight's semi is likely to be a tactical affair with Botswana’s Nijel Amos, who has a 1:42 time, and Evans Kipkiror two that he will have to keep an eye on.
In the morning session Victor ‘The Hulk’ Hogan pulled out a season's best to qualify for Thursday’s final of the discus. Hogan's 64.16 was well over the required distance for automatic qualification and is the first step towards a potential medal.
There were mixed results in the 400m hurdles, which saw the Commonwealth number one, Cornel Fredericks, progress to the final when he won his heat in 49.26. Delhi silver medalist, LJ van Zyl, failed to make it through the heats.
All three 200m sprinters made it through to the three semi-finals, which will be run early on Thursday evening. The event, which has become the more popular sprint distance, saw youngster Nicilili Titi the fastest of the South African qualifiers when he won the first of ten heats in 20.66, an effort he may end up regretting in the later rounds.
Wayde van Niekerk interrupted his 400m campaign for a half lap qualifier through heat six where he ran 20.86 behind Canada’s Gavin Smellie on 20.74 seconds. Akani Simbine was also content with second place in heat 5, where his 20.77 was sufficient to get to the semis.
(File Photo:Gallo Images)
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