Showtime for World Stars at Sizwe & 3SixtyLife Championships
It is showtime for World Stars at Sizwe Medical Fund and 3SixtyLife ASA Senior Track & Field and Combined Events Championships
World champions Caster Semenya, Wayde van Niekerk and Luvo Manyonga are the drawcards in the hunt for national titles this week after being included in the entry lists for the Sizwe Medical Fund and 3SixtyLife ASA Senior Track & Field and Combined Events Championships at the Germiston Athletics Stadium from Thursday 25 until Saturday 27 April 2019.
Semenya will spearhead a strong Athletics Gauteng North (AGN) team which features multiple other SA record holders, including sprinters Akani Simbine, who will turn out in the men’s 200m event and Carina Horn, who lines up as the favourite for the women’s 100m title.
The AGN squad also includes the likes of Olympic javelin throw medallist Sunette Viljoen, half-lap rocket Clarence Munyai, national 100m record holder Rikenette Steenkamp and world junior champion Zeney van der Walt who will again challenge teammate Wenda Nel for the national senior 400m hurdles title after being edged out in Tshwane last year.
Van Niekerk, meanwhile, is expected to continue his comeback from a knee injury in the men’s 400m event. The world and Olympic champion forms part of the Athletics Free State (AFS) team which also includes former Commonwealth Games champion Cornel Fredericks and fellow 400m hurdler PC Beneke, who are up against the AGN quartet of Le Roux Hamman, Lindsay Hanekom, Constant Pretorius and Sokwakhana Zazini in the men’s one-lap barriers contest.
Veteran athlete Chris Harmse will also turn out in an AFS vest, aiming for his 23rd successive SA title in the men’s hammer throw. He is up against a number of younger contenders including Renaldo Frechou (AGN) and Athletics Central North West (ACNW) teammates Tshepang Makhethe and Alan Cumming.
In the men’s long jump, Manyonga will line up as the favourite, joining a small Eastern Province Athletics (EPA) squad which also features defending men’s 200m champion Luxolo Adams. Zarck Visser, who is expected to give Manyonga a fight in the long jump (with World Championships medallist Ruswahl Samaai now absent from the start lists), will spearhead the Central Gauteng Athletics (CGA) team alongside shot putter Orazio Cremona and rising sprint star, Tamzin Thomas.
Simon Magakwe (Western Province Athletics) leads another exciting contest when he goes in search of his eighth national title in the men’s 100m event, with a battle on the line against Emile Erasmus (AGN), and in-form distance runner Elroy Gelant (ACNW) is chasing a 5 000m/10 000m double in an anticipated tussle with road star Stephen Mokoka (AGN).
African champion Victor Hogan (Boland Athletics) is the firm favourite in the men’s discus throw and Dom Scott-Efurd (WPA) lines up against Kesa Molotsane (AFS) in the women’s 5 000m race.
EVENT INFORMATION:
Date:
Thursday, 25 April 2019 – Saturday, 27 April 2019
Venue:
Germiston Athletics Stadium, Johannesburg
Time:
· Morning sessions will start at 07:00 on all three days.
· Afternoon sessions will begin at 14:00 on the opening day and at 15:00 on days two and three.
The full programme of events will be available on the ASA website.
Entry Fee:
Free for competing athletes
Spectators: R50 per day (including scholars and school children)
Tickets available at the gate on the day.
No pre-sales
Events:
Hurdles, Shot Put, Pole Vault, Javelin Throw, High Jump, Long Jump, Hammer Throw, Triple Jump, Decathlon, 1500m, 100m, 200m, 400m, 5000m, 10000m, 800m, 3000m Steeple Chase, 20km Walk, 4x 100m Relay and 4x 400m Relay.
Coverage:
There is no live TV coverage. There will be selected/limited coverage on our social media platforms. We will post videos of all the events within 10min after each event in the ASA website and ASA Youtube, but selected field events. All track races will be via Facebook live on the ASA page.
Event website:
www.asaseniors19.co.za
Facebook: 3Sixty Life / Athletics South Africa
Instagram: 3Sixty Life / ASA Athletics South Africa / stillwater_athletics
Twitter: @3_sixty_life / @AthleticsSA / _StillwAthletics
Hashtag: #LevelUp #LevelUpGermiston
Website: www.athletics.org.za
About Sizwe Medical Fund & 3Sixty Life:
Sizwe Medical Fund:
Sizwe Medical Fund is one of the oldest medical funds in South Africa. Founded over 40 years ago, Sizwe Medical Fund is in the Top 10 Open Medical Schemes in the country. Sizwe is committed to delivering affordable health care for all South Africans
3Sixty Life:
3Sixty Life is a fully black owned insurance company that was established in 1993 and at that time was named Union Life. 3Sixty Life is a provider of affordable funeral and life insurance products.
About Athletics South Africa:
Athletics South Africa (ASA) is the national governing body for the sport of athletics (including Track and Field, Cross Country, Road Running and Race Walking) in South Africa, is a member of the IAAF and the Confederation of African Athletics. The association is based in Johannesburg.