In 2011, a wrong turn only 12 kilometres from the finish cost Nedbank 360Life's Kevin Evans and David George victory in the Sani2c mountain bike race. They made no mistake in 2012, smashing the course record as they claimed victory in Scottburgh on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast on Saturday morning.

They took the overall lead after winning the opening stage between Underberg and McKenzie Club near Ixopo, KwaZulu-Natal, on Thursday and did not relinquish it.

On the third and final day, Evans and George rolled across the finishing line registering a time of 2:21:08, five seconds behind stage winners and team-mates James Reid and Charles Keey, who rode in the colours of Nedbank 360Life-Blend Properties.

Defending champion Max Knox and his new partner Mannie Heymans of Ormin finished in 2:23:59 to take third place on the day.

Overall classification

Evans, from Plettenberg Bay, and George, from Cape Town, topped the general classification with an overall time of 8:31:33.

The stage victory saw Reid and Keey cement their runner-up spot overall in 8:36:25, with Darren Lill and Brandon Stewart of FedGroup-Itec Connect-Bonitas rounding out the podium in 8:45:18.

"For us it wasn't important to win every stage; the overall was," said Evans, who notched up his fifth victory in six outings, two of which were with George.

"I love this race and I'll keep coming back. The course gets better and better every year."

No mistake

After his near-perfect record was marred last year when he and George overshot a turn on the final day, the pair made no mistake on the fast 72km final stage from Jolivet Farm near Highflats to Scottburgh High School.

By the first water point after 21km, Evans and George, riding with Reid and Keey, had opened up a lead of a minute on their pursuers, which included Knox and Heymans, Stewart and Lill, and Nico Bell and Gawie Combrinck of Bell Cycling-Columbia.

Evans said he expected more of a fight from their competition as they went up the first climb. "So we took a chance pacing with our junior team, basically consolidating our lead and making sure we had no hassles coming up to the finish.

They've been riding well

"It's great that James and Charles could win today. They've been riding really well and deserve it," he added.

Evans and George have been in superb form this season. They claimed the African jersey at the Absa Cape Epic in April and then captured the Old Mutual joBerg2c two weeks ago.

The two will also likely be contenders at next month's Trans Germany stage race, which is a solo event.

Women's race

In the women's race, early overall leaders Karien van Jaarsveld and Theresa Ralph of DisChem-Britehouse-MTN took their second stage win in 2:46:47, but it was not enough to secure the overall title after they lost almost an hour the previous day with mechanical problems. That left them in third place in the general classification in 11:07:36.

The overall honours went the way of stage two winners Ischen Stopforth and Catherine Williamson of bizhub-FCF, who came home in 2:54:08 for a combined time of 10:24:11.

Next in were the second bizhub-FCF pairing of Leana de Jager and Nicci Grobler in 3:02:24. They also claimed the runner-up spot in the overall standings in 10:57:52.

"It would have been nice to have beaten them fair and square," said Williamson, who hails from Britain. "We put so much effort into yesterday, going for the stage win because we didn’t know what the time gap was, and paid for it today."

Mixed category

Mixed category overall leaders Erik and Ariane Kleinhans of Contego-28E crashed 10km from the finish to gift bride-to-be Cherise Taylor and her future brother-in-law Dwane Stander - brother of Burry Stander - the final stage honours in 2:45:06.

The Kleinhans couple, who finished second on the day in 2:50:42, had enough of a margin to retain their title in 10:08:40. Taylor and Stander were second in 10:23:00.

Ivor Jones and Bridgitte Stewart of Crusader Logistics crossed the line in third place in 2:52:30 to claim the same position overall in 10:47:36.

SAinfo reporter

Orlando Pirates secured back-to-back Premier Soccer League (PSL) titles on Saturday, when they preserved their two-point lead at the top of the standings with a 4-2 victory over Golden Arrows at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.

Only one team, Moroka Swallows, had a chance to catch Pirates when the final round of matches began, but Pirates' victory prevented the Birds from snatching the title on the final weekend. Swallows, though, did all they could do, defeating Maritzburg United 1-0 away from home to finish only two points behind the Buccaneers.

Despite the fact that they repeated as champions, it was far from a smooth season for Pirates. Club owner Irvin Khoza's very questionable decision to part ways with coach Ruud Krol after Pirates' won three titles the previous season came back to haunt him when Krol's replacement, Jairo Leal, failed to get the results the Buccaneers were capable of.

Quit

The Brazilian quit at the beginning of April after being suspended in March. The club's comment at the time was that Leal had said he "could not see a way forward".

At the time, the Soweto giants were lying second in the league, but had lost in the preliminary round of the Caf Champions League and had been beaten in the last-16 of the Nedbank Cup by Free State Stars.

Augusto Palacios was appointed to take over from Leal and Pirates responded while some other teams faltered as the season headed towards its climax.

Change of fortune

For Swallows, it was a remarkable season considering how they had narrowly avoided relegation in the 2010/11 season.

The club's change of fortune began the previous when Gordon Igesund, a winner of league titles with Manning Rangers, Orlando Pirates, Mamelodi Sundowns and Santos, was hired and helped Swallows avoid relegation. Given a full season in charge, Igesund lifted the Birds to second in the league as they became the highest scoring team in the PSL.

Much of that had to do with Igesund's ability to get the best out of striker Siyabonga Nomvethe. At the age of 34, Nomvethe produced 20 goals, far and away the leading mark in the league, with Eleazar Rodgers of Santos finishing second with 12 goals to his name.

Gavin Hunt again did wonders with SuperSport United as the club finished third, four points behind Pirates and ahead of big money clubs Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs, after they closed the season with a 2-1 victory at Bloemfontein Celtic.

Disappointing

For a club with the financial resources of Sundowns, finishing fourth was a disappointing season. For supporters of fan favourites Kaizer Chiefs, a fifth place finish was even more disappointing and that fact was underlined by the dismissal of coach Vladimir Vermezovic in April with seven matches remaining in the season.

Jomo Cosmos continued the club's yo-yo existence of winning promotion and immediately being relegated as they won only two of their 30 games whilst drawing 13 times. They finished eight points lower than the second bottom club, Santos.

The Cape Town club managed a 1-0 win over Cosmos on the last day of the season, but when Black Leopards beat Ajax Cape Town 3-1, Santos was consigned to the playoffs for a place in the PSL next season.

Poor season

On the subject of Ajax Cape Town, it was a poor season for the team which had gone into the final fixture of the previous season two points clear of Pirates, but ended up missing out on the title on goal difference. This time around they managed only ninth place, winning 11 matches, drawing seven and losing 12 times.

The University of Pretoria lifted the National First Division (NFD) title to secure a spot in the PSL next season. Chippa United and Thanda Royal Zulu, after finishing second and third respectively in the NFD, will face Santos in playoff matches for the remaining PSL place.

PSL CHAMPIONS

• 2011/12: Orlando Pirates
• 2010/11: Orlando Pirates
• 2009/10: SuperSport United
• 2008/09: SuperSport United
• 2007/08: SuperSport United
• 2006/07: Mamelodi Sundowns
• 2005/06: Mamelodi Sundowns
• 2004/05: Kaizer Chiefs
• 2003/04: Kaizer Chiefs
• 2002/03: Orlando Pirates
• 2001/02: Santos
• 2000/01: Orlando Pirates
• 1999/00: Mamelodi Sundowns
• 1998/99: Mamelodi Sundowns
• 1997/98: Mamelodi Sundowns
• 1996/97: Manning Rangers

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South African President Jacob Zuma has joined international leaders in congratulating Francois Hollande following the socialist party leader's victory in France's presidential runoff elections on Sunday.

Hollande won an estimated 51.05 percent of the votes, beating Sarkozy's 48.95 percent, according to initial results.

"We would like to take this opportunity to extend our congratulations to Mr Hollande and the people of France for a successful election," Zuma said in a statement on Sunday evening.

He said South Africa and France enjoyed strong bilateral political and trade relations, and hoped that the two countries would continue to build on them under the new leadership.

Swing to the left

The win ends 17 years of conservative leadership in France and marks a swing to the left that will mean key policy changes at the heart of Europe.

Sarkozy, swamped by voters' anger at his failure to rein in rife unemployment, became Europe's 11th leader to be swept out by the eurozone debt crisis.

He conceded defeat minutes after the polls closed, and addressed his supporters at the headquarters of his party.

"France has a new president; it's a democratic, republican choice," Sarkozy said. "Francois Hollande is the president of France and must be respected. I just spoke to him on the telephone, and I want to wish him good luck amid the ordeals.

"It will be difficult, but I wish with all my heart that France, our country which brings us together, manages to get through these ordeals, because there is something much bigger than us; it's our country, it's our homeland," Sarkozy said.

'Heavy challenges await us'

Hollande, who will be France's first socialist president since Francois Mitterrand left office in 1995, spoke of bringing hope and change to France.

"The first duty of the President of the Republic is to bring together and link all citizens to communal action so as to face up to the challenges awaiting us, and there are many and they are heavy," Hollande said.

"First of all, to increase production in order to get the country out of the crisis, reducing our deficit in order to control debt, the preservation of our social model to ensure to all the same equal access to public services."

Hollande vowed to rework a deal that called on European governments to cut their debt.

He also promised to raise taxes on big corporations and people earning more than a million euros a year.

France plays an important role in various multilateral forums, including the European Union, United Nations Security Council, G20, and the International Monetary Fund.

Source: BuaNews-Xinhua

South Africans celebrate Freedom Day in order to ensure that the present does not erase the past, and in order to protect the future, President Jacob Zuma said as the country marked its 18th year of freedom on Friday, calling on all citizens to work together to make the country a success.

"We must put the country first in everything we do, and work together to make a success of the second phase of struggle, that of working towards a prosperous South Africa."

The President was addressing the national Freedom Day celebrations held at the Union Buildings. The day commemorates the first democratic elections held in the country on 27 April 1994.

"Together we have built from the ashes of apartheid a country that is dedicated to patriotism, nation-building and reconciliation," Zuma said, adding that South Africa had been able to tackle its socio-economic development challenges through the creation of a stable democratic system.

"It has been a short but very meaningful road from a pariah state to a peaceful, stable, vibrant non-racial, non-sexist, democratic country that is working hard to achieve prosperity for all," Zuma said.

"On Freedom Day we celebrate our victory over racial bigotry."

He the government was working towards eradicating unemployment, inequity and poverty.

"The challenge has been to ensure that more of our people benefit from economic growth whilst maintaining and indeed building on the strength of our economy."

South Africa was recovering from the effects of the global financial crisis of 2008-09, with the past 18 months having seen a substantial economic recovery, Zuma said.

"The challenge now is to accelerate our gains, to ensure above all that growth supports increased inclusion, employment and equity."

The proportion of the population living below the R422 a month poverty line had decreased from 50% in 1994 to 34.5% in 2009, Zuma said, while in 2011, 75.8% of the country's households had access to electricity compared to 51% in 1994.

"Most importantly, primary health care is now accessible to all South Africans regardless of race, background and nationality," said Zuma.

Efforts to improve social conditions in the country include an R8.2-billion allocation for school infrastructure, while 43 regional bulk projects for water infrastructure will be completed by 2014, benefiting 3.2-million people.

South Africa was also working to support unemployed young people through the expansion of public employment programmes, Zuma said.

Source: BuaNews

South Africa is a culturally diverse country, one nation made up of many peoples.

Despite missing the country's top two players, the South African Davis Cup team pulled off a remarkable four-one victory over Slovenia in Soweto on Sunday to secure a place in the playoffs for the prestigious World Group.

The win was secured on Sunday morning when South Africa's number one Izak van der Merwe defeated his Slovenia counterpart Blaz Kavcic 7-6 (7-3), 6-4, 6-4.

Van der Merwe's victory ensured gave South Africa an unassailable three-one lead, after his singles win against Grega Zemlja on Friday, coupled with Saturday's doubles win, when he was partnered by Raven Klaasen. In that contest, the South African pair beat Kavcic and Zemlja 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-4), 6-1, 6-4.

Crucial singles clash

In Sunday's crucial singles clash between the two numbers ones, both Van der Merwe and Kavcic started off cautiously in windy conditions and neither managed to wrest the initiative as games went with service.

However, halfway through the first set Van der Merwe claimed the first break. Kavcic, though, broke back immediately in the next game and the set ultimately went to a tiebreak.

Van der Merwe cranked up his booming serve in the tiebreak and blew Kavcic away, who, judging by his facial expressions was going through soul-destroying times, as the South African wrapped up the tiebreak 7-3.

Kavcic hung in bravely over the next two sets, but Van der Merwe's serve carried too much firepower. On top of that, a few line calls went against Kavicic in the third set, and that finally helped to extinguish any lingering hopes he may have had of sustaining Slovenia's Davis Cup drive into the World Group play-offs in September.

Reverse singles

With South Africa already confirmed as winners of the rubber, the outcome of the second reverse singles encounter between Ruan Roelofse and Nik Razborsek was of mere academic importance.

The match was reduced to the best of three sets with the tie already decided and Roelofse emerged victorious 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2).

He had previously lost to Kavcic in the reverse singles on the opening day of the tie, with the Slovenian triumphing in four sets: 6-7 (4-7), 6-1, 6-1, 6-3.

Play-offs

The Davis Cup World Group play-offs will take in 16 teams and will be staged on the weekend of 14-16 September.

Eight of the 16 teams will come from the first-round World Group losers: Kazakhstan, Russia, Canada, Switzerland, Italy, Japan, Sweden and Germany.

The remaining eight will come the Group One countries, which play in three sections; Americas, Asia/Oceania and Europe/Africa.

Two teams from each of the Americas (Chile Brazil) and Asia/Oceania sections (Uzbekistan and Australia), plus four from Europe/Africa (South Africa, Netherlands, Belgium and Israel) will (make up the eight teams.

Seeding

For the play-offs, eight of the 16 teams will be seeded, with their Davis Cup ranking the decisive criteria.

It's very likely, given the composition of the play-off teams, that South Africa will secure a home tie yet again.

It will be the fourth time in the past decade that South Africa will be playing in the World Cup group play-offs.

South Africa enjoys the distinction of being one of only 13 nations that have been crowned Davis Cup champions since USA won the inaugural competition in 1900.

In December 1974, the country won the title by default because their opponents India withdrew from the final.

SAinfo reporter

The South African U-19 Junior Team withstood a spirited final round challenge from Zimbabwe to score a comprehensive 31-shot victory at the All-Africa Junior Golf Championships at the Gaborone Golf Club on Thursday.

With a successful title defence in mind, the South African juniors were disappointed when they shared the lead with Zimbabwe on 218 after the first round.

However, the promising amateurs found their stride during round two and, by the end of the third round, held an impressive 28-shot lead over Zimbabwe.

South African Golf Association president Colin Burger said that the team understood exactly what was required in the final round to bring the victory home.

'Very proud'

"We knew the Zimbabweans and even the Namibians, in third, would come at us guns blazing," he said in a statement.

"We held a massive lead, but we needed cool heads and no heroics for the final round. I’m very proud of the way the boys stood up and delivered."

Western Province amateur Dylan Raubenheimer carded an even-par 71, which was backed up by three 72s from Zander Lombard from Gauteng North, Ekurhuleni's Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Western Province's Ian Snyman.

A landslide victory

The South African's final score of 845 ensured a 31-shot victory over Zimbabwe and was 43 shots better than third-placed Namibia. Even Burger didn't expect such a landslide victory.

"We were very impressed last year when our team beat Namibia by 16 shots," he said. "We thought that was a landslide victory, but I think these boys have given that word new meaning. They nearly doubled that margin this year.

"The team was, in a word, impressive. What really struck me was how well they combined and supported each other. If there was a guy in trouble out there, three others stepped up to make sure the job got done."

Individual title

South Africa also dominated the Individual competition, with Bezuidenhout edging out Raubenheimer by five shots to win the title with rounds of 75-68-65-72.

The All-Africa Junior Golf Championships drew entries from 10 countries, including South Africa, hosts Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Kenya, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia, Ivory Coast and Mauritius.

By winning, South Africa qualified to send a team to Japan for the World Junior Golf Championships later this year.

"But that is still a few months away, so let's give them a chance to celebrate and enjoy their victory first," said Burger.

South African Scores

• 280 Christiaan Bezuidenhout 75-68-65-72
• 283 Dylan Raubenheimer 74-69-71-71
• 288 Zander Lombard 75-72-69-72
• 290 Ian Snyman 69-80-69-72

• SAinfo reporter

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South Africa's Burry Stander and Swiss star Christoph Sauser successfully defended their Absa Cape Epic title in Lourensford in the Western Cape on Sunday after dominating the eight-day, seven-stage event from start to finish. The all-South African duo of Kevin Evans and David George placed second.

Sunday's final stage wasn't the procession it was expected to be as the defending champions and overall leaders attacked their rivals on the 64km leg from Oak Valley to Lourensford to win their sixth out of seven stages.

The 36One-Songo-Specialized pair broke clear of the lead group just before the Telkom Hot Spot, won the R10 000 cash prize for being first across the prime, and then continued to power away up the steep climb that followed.

South African flag

They then carried a relentless pace to the finish, where Stander, on the final approach, grabbed a South African flag, which he carried proudly across the finish line.

Second place on the day went to the Topeak Ergon duo of Alban Lakata (Aut) and Robert Mennen (Ger) who pipped Songo-Specialized's Max Knox (RSA) and Kohei Yamamoto (Jpn) in the sprint for second place, just less than a minute down on Stander and Sauser.

Stander and Sauser's sixth stage win in eight days confirmed their dominance at the ninth edition of the world's most prestigious mountain bike stage race.

Third victory

It was also Sauser's third victory in the event, his other having come in 2006 with compatriot Silvio Bundi. Stander is the only South African to have won the overall Cape Epic title. His total of 20 career stage wins is second only to Sauser, who has 26 to his name.

Nedbank 360Life's Kevin Evans and David George were fifth on the final stage, but secured second place on the General Classification, the highest ever placing by a South African team in the event. They also won the Absa African Team competition. Hannes Genze (Ger) and Andreas Kugler (Sui) of Team Multivan Merida, were third overall.

Unlike many of their rivals, Stander and Sauser had an incident-free eight days, which is virtually unheard of in a race that covers such rugged terrain and features such varied weather conditions as this year's edition, which included intense heat, gale force winds and driving rain.

Rode on the front'

"We simply rode on the front for about 80% of the entire race and stayed out of trouble," said Stander afterwards.

"When you ride on the front you can pick your line and avoid possible problems. When you follow someone else, you can't anticipate what’s coming. I felt so much more in control riding on the front more this year.

"We worked hard for this stage and the overall," he added. "We will never say no to the opportunity of winning a stage. Twenty-seven minutes is a big victory margin, but not only thanks to us. Our whole team and our equipment played a role.

'Nothing compares to it'

"We learnt our lessons in previous years. The Absa Cape Epic is a story. Every day is a chapter and that makes it so amazing. Now we know the Yellow Jersey is ours. Until now it felt like we were borrowing it. Nothing compares to it."

The only other South Africans to win a category were the Team Contego 28E pairing of Erik and Ariane Kleinhans. The married couple won the Mixed category title overall and collected seven stage wins in the process.

They were by far the most dominant Mixed team in the race with an eventual winning margin of two hours and seven minutes over runners up Udo Bölts (Ger) and Milena Landtwing (Sui) of Team Centurion Vaude. Bölts won the Master's division last year and is a former top-10 finisher at the Tour de France.

Masters winners

Former World and Olympic champion and 2005 Cape Epic winner, Bart Brentjens (Ned) and his compatriot Jan Weevers of the World Bicycle Relief team won the Telkom Masters (over-40) category. They were followed by two all-South African teams – Delaney Impey and Adrian Enthoven (JAG Craft) and Scott McKenzie and Warren Squires (Complete Cyclist), in second and third respectively.

The women's division was dominated by the Wheels4Life team of Sally Bigham (GBR) and Esther Süss (Sui), who won all seven stages and the overall title. South African Theresa Ralph and her Norwegian partner Nina Gassler were second, while another South African, Karien van Jaarsveld, and her Swiss teammate, Jane Nuessli of Team MTN Qhubeka, were third.

A total of 604 two-rider teams started the 781km, eight-day race, with 481 teams finishing and 93 solo riders completing the event after their partners withdrew.

RESULTS

MEN

• 1. Burry Stander (RSA)/Christoph Sauser (Sui) 36One-Songo-Specialized
• 2. Kevin Evans (RSA)/David George (RSA) Nedbank 360Life
• 3. Hannes Genze (Ger)/Andreas Kugler (Sui) Multivan Merida
• 4. Thomas Dietsche (Fra)/Tim Boehme (Ger) Bulls 2
• 5. Alban Lakata (Aut)/Robert Mennen (Ger) Topeak Ergon
• WOMEN
  
• 1.Esther Süss (Sui)/Sally Bigham (GBR) Wheels4Life
• 2. Theresa Ralph (RSA)/Nina Gassler (Nor) Biogen Britehouse
• 3. Karien van Jaarsveld (RSA)/Jane Nuessli (Sui) MTN Qhubeka
• MASTERS
  
• 1. Bart Brentjens (Ned)/Jan Weevers (Ned) World Bicycle Relief
• 2. Adrian Enthoven (RSA)/Delaney Impey (RSA) JAG Craft
• 3. Warren Squires (RSA)/Scott McKenzie (RSA) Complete Cyclist
• MIXED
  
• 1. Erik Kleinhans (RSA)/Ariane Kleinhans (RSA) Contego 28E
• 2. Udo Bölts (Ger)/Milena Landtwing (Sui) Centurion Vaude
• 3 Klaas van Moortel (Bel)/Inne Gantois (Bel) BAIL Peak Performance Brugge

• SAinfo reporter

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This is big sky country, with vast mountain ranges falling into lush river valleys.

South Africa crushed England 28-0 to claim third place at the Hong Kong Sevens on Sunday, consolidating the Blitzbokke's third place on the HSBC Sevens World Series log.

Stephan Dippenaar got the Blitzbokke on the scoreboard against the English and they doubled their lead on the stroke of halftime when substitute William Small-Smith, on for the injured Paul Delport, scored under the posts.

Cornal Hendricks scored his fifth try of the tournament after the break when he collected a clever kick by Chris Dry. Branco du Preez then capped a good all-round performance with his 30th World Series try just before the final siren.

Pool results

Coach Paul Treu's men opened their challenge with a 10-0 win over Wales. They followed up that victory with a 15-7 defeat of the USA. That left South Africa and New Zealand to battle it out for top place in Pool B.

The Kiwis hit the ground running and ran up a 19-0 lead before South Africa replied with 10 unanswered points, resulting in the contest finishing 19-10 in favour of the New Zealanders.

The loss meant the Blitzbokke had to face Pool A winners Samoa, who had won the Cup in the HSBC World Series' previous stop in Las Vegas, in the quarterfinals.

Excellent result

In an excellent result for the green and gold, Cornal Hendricks dotted down twice, while Branco du Preez, Boom Prinsloo and Stephan Dippenaar also scored tries, as South Africa ran out 27-14 winners to set up a rematch with New Zealand in the semi-finals.

After a a hard-fought clash, New Zealand emerged victors by 19 points to 12 and booked a place against Fiji in the final.

South African referee Rasta Rashivhenge took charge of the title-decider and played his part in an entertaining clash, won 35-28 by Fiji.

Third place in Hong Kong was worth 17 points for South Africa, which took their season's total to 93. New Zealand remains top of the log on 111 points, with Fiji only two points adrift on 109.

Injuries

Ahead of the next tournament in Tokyo, South Africa will continue to monitor injuries suffered by Cecil Afrika and Paul Delport. Both men are nursing knee injuries.

"Cecil underwent a sonar scan at the stadium and fortunately the damage is not too severe. He and Paul will hopefully be ready to play for us next weekend in Japan," said South Africa's coach Paul Treu.

RESULTS

Cup final
Fiji 35-28 New Zealand

Cup third place playoff
South Africa 28-0 England

Plate final
Samoa 12-10 Argentina

Bowl final
Kenya 14-12 United States

Qualifier final
Canada 22-5 Spain

Qualifier third place
Portugal 33-19 Japan

SAinfo reporter

South African athletes are raising their game as the London Olympics approach. In Potchefstroom on Saturday, four sprinters achieved Olympic qualifying times in the 200 metres.

Competing in the Yellow Pages meeting, Simon Magakwe, Thuso Mpuang and Lebogang Moeng attained the Olympic A qualifying-standard in the men's 200 metres, while Tsholofelo Thipe did the same in the women's race.

There was further excitement in the women's triple jump when Patience Ntshingila, competing in perfect weather conditions, bettered the South African record.

Men's 200 metres

The 200 metres men's heats set the scene for what was to come when Simon Magakwe became the first athlete to reach the Olympic qualifying A-standard time of 20.55sec by winning his heat in 20.43sec.

Thuso Mpuang, who finished second in the heat, just missed out on qualifying, clocking 20.58sec.

If the heats set the scene, then the final delivered the icing on the cake. Magakwe won the race in 20.38sec, with Mpuang and Lebogang Moeng both finishing under the 20.55sec qualifying standard. Mpuang stopped the clock in 20.50sec, while Moeng clocked 20.51sec.

Women's 200 metres

Not to be outdone, Tsholofelo Thipe shattered the A-qualifying standard of 23.10sec in the women's 200 metres and set a massive new personal best when she clocked 22.89sec in the final.

She just missed the qualifying mark in the heats, with a time of 23.11sec, just one-hundredth of a second off the required time.

Thipe's previous best time was set three years ago in Germiston when she finished second at a Yellow Pages meeting in 23.28sec.

South African record

Charmaine Barnard's South African record in the women's triple jump had been broken only recently by Charlene Potgieter, who jumped 13.61 metres on 25 February. Patience Ntshingila, however, forced Barnard into second place in Potchefstroom with a South African record leap of 13.89 metres.

Potgieter also bettered the previous record with leaps of 13.77m and 13.70m.

Rorisang Rammonye came close to the Olympic qualifying time of 51.55sec in the women's 400m, taking victory in 51.61sec, well clear of second placed Sonja van der Merwe, who clocked 53.66sec.

Women's javelin

Sunette Viljoen led throughout the entire competition in the women's javelin throw, but Czech athlete Jarmila Klimesova's 60.96m in the final round was enough for the win. Viljoen was trying for the 61m Olympic qualifying A-standard in front of her home crowd, but had to be satisfied with 59.30m.

Former SA Youth Champion and World Youth leading javelin thrower Morne Moolman, entered the senior ranks this year and made an immediate impact by finishing third in the men's senior javelin throw, which was dominated by the two Czech athletes, Vitezslav Vesely and Jakub Vadlejeh.

Vesely won the competition with an 81.72m attempt, while Vadejeh finished second with a best throw of 80.40m. Moolman’s best effort was measured at 75.08m.

800 metres

In the 800m for men, former world champion Mbulaeni Mulaudzi won in 1:46.41 ahead of Thapelo Madiba (1:46.92) and Daniel Nghipandulwa from Namibia, who finished in 1:48.24.

Caster Semenya, another former world champion, won the women's 800m in 2:03.60. Mapaseka Makhanya finished second in 2:04.89, with Lebo Phalula third in 2:05.58.

SAinfo reporter

The South African Sevens team has not yet won the Hong Kong Sevens, the most prestigious tournament on the HSBC Sevens World Series calendar. They'll be looking to change that this weekend.

Blitsbokke coach Paul Treu is demanding a huge effort from his team at the popular three-day tournament. He has named a 12-man squad, but decided against including newcomer Dirk Dippenaar, for the pressure cooker in the Hong Kong Stadium. The rookie will instead debut next week in Japan. Renfred Dazel is the other non-playing squad member.

South Africa's preparations for the tournament have been hampered by injuries to key players Kyle Brown, Paul Delport, Boom Prinsloo and Chris Dry. All have, however, been cleared to play. One man who will be missing is the in-form Steven Hunt, who has stayed behind in Cape Town to attend a family funeral.

'Best shot'

"We have never won in Hong Kong and the players are itching to give it their best shot," said coach Paul Treu in a statement.

"Our focus for these two tournaments will be on consistency, to take our opportunities and to stop the cheap tries," he continued. "We are second to New Zealand when it comes to defensive statistics and we intend to keep stretching ourselves in this department.

"For us, the Hong Kong tournament is always going to be special and over the past few days we've been talking about the fact that winning it is the one thing we'd like to achieve."

The SA Sevens coach added: "The 12-team format, consisting only of core teams, will be a tough challenge and our opener against Wales will be a huge game for us. We managed a number of injuries and, as a result, our preparations for this trip were maybe less than ideal.

Title contenders

"New Zealand and Fiji are setting the pace and the trend at the moment, and they should be main contenders in Hong Kong. Traditionally, England play well in Hong Kong, and Samoa gained a lot of confidence from winning the USA title in Las Vegas," he added.

South Africa is currently third in the World Series standings with 76 points. They open their campaign with a Pool B match against Wales on Friday (14:08, SA time) and will play their remaining pool matches on Saturday against the USA and New Zealand.

History

South Africa has lost in the final of the Hong Kong Sevens on three occasions, including recently, in 2008 and 2009.

In 1997, Fiji edged SA 24-21 for the title. In 2008, New Zealand beat the Blitsbokke 26-12. The following year, 2009, Fiji scraped a 26-24 victory.

Last year, New Zealand beat England 29-17 to lift the silverware. South Africa won the Plate.

SAinfo reporter