The lady of the moment, Rikenette Steenkamp, surprised everyone including herself when she ran the fastest women’s 100 metre hurdles time in the country since 2009 in Stellenbosch on Monday night.
The Tuks athlete had run 13.64 seconds at the National Championships the previous weekend but did not think that she would be able to better her time after such a short turn-around.
“I am stunned, I didn’t expect to run a time like that,” Steenkamp told varsitysportssa.com on Tuesday after she ran 13.48 seconds.
“I thought the conditions were quite cold so I didn’t expect such a quick race.”
Steenkamp has attributed her result to a number of factors including pressure as well as crowd influence.
“I was more relaxed last night compared to at the National Championships.
“When I went out I told myself to relax and that is what I did.
“It was also the biggest crowd I have run in front of in South Africa,” she added.
Before the race Steenkamp set her sights on running a time that would qualify her for another World Student games and that is exactly what she managed.
After the first round of the competition she is very excited and confident that the event can go from strength to strength.
“I am completely for it [Varsity Athletics], it is the exposure that South African athletes need,” she said.
