If ever there was any doubt that the men’s long jump competition is one of the strongest events in South Africa, then Ruswahl Samaai of UJ showed that the National Championships on 15/16 April will be a titanic battle.
The 24-year-old UJ athlete showed that the three positions for the Olympic Games will be one of the fiercest battles to come after his 8.20m jump at the Varsity Athletics Final in Stellenbosch on Thursday 7 April.
Samaai led a UJ clean sweep in the long jump, with Dylan Cotter second (7.76m) and Peter Makgato third (7.48m).
“The long jump is in great shape, with Luvo Manjonga jumping well, Zarck Visser and Khotso in the mix. My 8.20m today means that I can challenge too and I am consistently hitting the 8.10m plus mark so I am very confident,” said Samaai.
In the ladies’ long jump, UJ’s Lynique continued to dominate with a winning jump of 6.41m. Runner up at UJ, Sam Pretorius, had to settle for third, with fellow UJ athlete, Zinzi Chabangu, claiming second (6.26m).
Le Roux Hamman had to settle for second this time round in the men’s 400m hurdles. On 18 March he dipped the 50sec mark for the first time, for the win, but this time round he had to bow out to Constant Pretorius. Pretorius crossing the line in 51.20sec with Hamman second in 51.51sec.
The “grudge” match-up between Gezelle Magerman (Tuks) and Jean Marie Senekal lived up to its billing as a mere 3/10th of a second separated the two. On 8 March, a stumble before the final hurdle cost Magerman the win, this time round she left nothing to chance winning in 58.52sec to the 58.86sec of Senekal.
As expected the men’s 800m came down to Rynhardt van Rensburg (Kovsies) and UWC’s Duran Faro. The latter had been crowned U23 SA Champion on 2 April in Germiston and was full of confidence, but van Rensburg is in good form this year and is not easy to beat. The result then ending the same as on 8 March: Van Rensburg first, with Faro settling for second. The times 1:48.72 to 1:49.22 – another close race.
As expected, Caster Semenya was too strong in the 400m. The Pukke athlete powered away to a 53.16sec win but was not happy with her time. “I should have gone faster. The points for Pukke are good, but I should have gone faster and won us more points.”
Looking ahead to the National Championships, Caster Semenya is looking for fast times in both the 400m and 800m. “I will be doing the 400/800m double. A sub 2minute 800m is definitely what I am looking at, who knows, maybe even a sub 50sec 400m.”
Since the inception of Varsity Athletics, the University of Pretoria has won the overall competition. In 2015 they had to share the spoils with Pukke. This time, though, the overall champions hail from Johannesburg. UJ came up trumps with a total of 15 510 points to the 15 298 points of the defending champions. Pukke had to settle for third (15 173pts).
By Manfred Seidler
