Viljoen qualifies and Cronje not
Updated | By Nondumiso Zakwe
Cronje, bronze medalist at the IAAF World Championships in Moscow, was run out of the 1500m qualifiers by 0.62 seconds in a fast but tactical race that was initially controlled by the Kenyans.
After recording 59.20 for the first 400m, and 1:59 at 800m, Cronje was boxed in mid-pack and forced to leave his kick to coming off the bend.
This left the South African struggling to close the gap and finishing in 8th spot in 3:36.59 behind Kenyan winner Elijah Manangoi who pulled the race to 3:35.00.
Although all 12 runners in the semi-final were faster than Asbel Kiprop who led the first semi-final home in 3:43.48, Cronje was one place out of the fastest loser slot ending his Beijing campaign.
Viljoen reached 63.95m with her first attempt to qualify for Sunday's javelin final.
(File Photo: Gallo Images)
Twitter - @omvirtualcoach @SportswaveAndre @ECRSportswave
Facebook - ECRSportswave
Show's Stories
-
QUIZ: What is my coffee personality?
Who doesn’t love a cup of Joe in the morning?
East Coast Breakfast 22 hours ago -
Traffic light confusion for South African motorist
When you are stuck between signals and you are not sure what to do...
Danny Guselli 1 day, 14 hours ago