It was a night to forget for South African 400m hurdles champions LJ van Zyl and Wenda Nel, who were both knocked out in the semi-finals of the Rio Olympics on Tuesday.
Van Zyl looked in a strong position after the first 300m, but just couldn’t maintain his momentum on the home straight.
The multiple SA hurdles champion would’ve felt he had a good chance of reaching his second Olympic final after finishing fifth in the 2008 Beijing Games, even though he was up against an impressive semi-final line-up that included Puerto Rican star Javier Culson, Turkey’s Yasmani Copello and Jamaica’s Annsert Whyte, who was the fastest in the first round.
Van Zyl maintained a steady pace over the first 250m as he kept up with the “big three” and he appeared to be in third position with about 100m to go.
But the 31-year-old ran out of steam on the home straight, and with 50m left, Whyte and Culson made their move, followed by Copello, with Whyte winning in 48.32.
Culson was second in 48.46 to clinch the second automatic qualifying spot, but Van Zyl faded to fifth in 49.00 to finish outside the two “fastest losers” as well, which were Copello (48.61) and fourth-placed Rasmus Magi of Estonia (48.64).
Nel made an even better start to her 400m hurdles semi-final, and entered the home straight in third position. But American Ashley Spencer, Jamaica’s Janieve Russell and Great Britain’s Eilidh Doyle surged forward to end in the top three, all under 55 seconds.
Nel had to be satisfied with sixth place in 55.83, which is a disappointing end to a season that had promised so much, as her 2016 best of 54.47 was recorded less than a month ago in London.
There was further disappointment on the track as SA 110m hurdles champion Antonio Alkana was also knocked out at the semi-final stage on Tuesday. Alkana made a great start as he had the second-quickest reaction time, and looked well on course at the 50m mark.
But he struggled to maintain his speed between the hurdles and ended seventh in 13.55.
@ashfakmohamed
Independent Media