Simbine shines as Sunette wilts
by David Isaacson,
2016-03-10 05:00:00.0
COACH Terseus Liebenberg says javelin star Sunette Viljoen, who managed only 52.91m on Tuesday night, will be back to her best once she irons out some technical issues.
At the same meet in which Akani Simbine raced to a South African record (9.96sec) in the 100m, Viljoen looked out of sorts as she struggled with no-throws en route to losing on home soil for the first time in years.
Viljoen, one of SA’s medal hopes for this year’s Rio Games, has cleared 60m every year since 2008.
The two-times former Commonwealth Games champion is also a world championship bronze medallist from 2011 and last year, and finished fourth at the London Olympics in 2012.
Her 69.35m personal best stands as the African record.
"It was an early competition and there are a lot of things we need to sort out," said Liebenberg, Viljoen’s long-time coach.
"A few training sessions and it’ll be sorted. She will be ready by nationals (in Stellenbosch on April 15 and 16).
"The technique was not good. Her run-up was not 100% and the technical area — the biomechanics — she was not using the levers of the body in the correct sequence. She was also not blocking efficiently."
Liebenberg said that her poor performance at Pilditch Stadium in Pretoria had also been compounded by what he felt was an incorrectly positioned right sector line that was not wide enough and resulted in Viljoen’s no-throws.
"That’s not an excuse. On the evening, she was really disappointed because she knows she’s capable of throwing well over 60m. She’ll pick herself up."
He said Viljoen might compete at the provincial championships in Potchefstroom this weekend.
Veteran LJ van Zyl, the 400m hurdles world championship bronze medallist from 2011, ran an unimpressive 46.86sec in the 400m, but he shrugged it off, saying he had started too slowly and planned to rectify it at the Gauteng North championships tomorrow and Saturday.
But the star of the show was Simbine, who has now been under 10 seconds three times in his career.
His time was fast enough to make the final of every Olympics and would have been good enough for sixth spot at the 2012 Games.
It was good enough for a world ranking of 18th last year and 14th in 2012. It never stood as a world record, but the first man to run faster than 9.96 was American Jim Hines, who won the Olympic title in 9.95 in Mexico 1968.
Simbine will be back in action at Pilditch Stadium tomorrow and on Saturday.
Akani Simbine. Picture: LUKE WALKER/GALLO IMAGES
COACH Terseus Liebenberg says javelin star Sunette Viljoen, who managed only 52.91m on Tuesday night, will be back to her best once she irons out some technical issues.
At the same meet in which Akani Simbine raced to a South African record (9.96sec) in the 100m, Viljoen looked out of sorts as she struggled with no-throws en route to losing on home soil for the first time in years.
Viljoen, one of SA’s medal hopes for this year’s Rio Games, has cleared 60m every year since 2008.
The two-times former Commonwealth Games champion is also a world championship bronze medallist from 2011 and last year, and finished fourth at the London Olympics in 2012.
Her 69.35m personal best stands as the African record.
"It was an early competition and there are a lot of things we need to sort out," said Liebenberg, Viljoen’s long-time coach.
"A few training sessions and it’ll be sorted. She will be ready by nationals (in Stellenbosch on April 15 and 16).
"The technique was not good. Her run-up was not 100% and the technical area — the biomechanics — she was not using the levers of the body in the correct sequence. She was also not blocking efficiently."
Liebenberg said that her poor performance at Pilditch Stadium in Pretoria had also been compounded by what he felt was an incorrectly positioned right sector line that was not wide enough and resulted in Viljoen’s no-throws.
"That’s not an excuse. On the evening, she was really disappointed because she knows she’s capable of throwing well over 60m. She’ll pick herself up."
He said Viljoen might compete at the provincial championships in Potchefstroom this weekend.
Veteran LJ van Zyl, the 400m hurdles world championship bronze medallist from 2011, ran an unimpressive 46.86sec in the 400m, but he shrugged it off, saying he had started too slowly and planned to rectify it at the Gauteng North championships tomorrow and Saturday.
But the star of the show was Simbine, who has now been under 10 seconds three times in his career.
His time was fast enough to make the final of every Olympics and would have been good enough for sixth spot at the 2012 Games.
It was good enough for a world ranking of 18th last year and 14th in 2012. It never stood as a world record, but the first man to run faster than 9.96 was American Jim Hines, who won the Olympic title in 9.95 in Mexico 1968.
Simbine will be back in action at Pilditch Stadium tomorrow and on Saturday.
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