OSTRAVA, Czech Republic — South African athletes enjoyed a highly productive evening at the 65th Ostrava Golden Spike meeting, with all four competitors on the entry lists securing podium finishes at the World Athletics Continental Tour – Gold event.
Facing world-class fields at the Městský Stadion, the South African contingent delivered a series of strong performances, highlighted by an African continental record in a rare sprint distance and a commanding return from injury in the men’s 100m.
Dambile Pushes Lyles to World Best in 150m
The men’s 150-metre curved sprint provided one of the evening’s most anticipated matchups, featuring Olympic champion Noah Lyles and Australian teenager Gout Gout.
South Africa’s Sinesipho Dambile delivered a standout performance, executing a strong bend to enter the home straight level with Lyles. While Lyles ultimately surged ahead to claim victory in a new World Best time of 14.67 seconds, Dambile held form to finish second in 14.78 seconds.
Dambile’s time marks a new African Continental Record for the distance, eclipsing the previous global benchmark along with Lyles of 14.92. Gout Gout rounded out the top three, crossing the line in 14.96.
Walaza Marks Return with 100m Victory
In the men’s 100m, Bayanda Walaza made an impactful return to the European circuit following an injury layoff that had previously ruled him out of the World Athletics Relays.
Walaza controlled a competitive field to take the win, crossing the line in 9.94 seconds to equal his personal best. The performance marks the third sub-10-second clocking of the young sprinter’s career and his first of the current season.
He led an African one-two finish, with Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme taking second place in 9.99, followed by the Netherlands’ Taymir Burnet in third with a time of 10.13.
Fourie Takes Third in Razor-Thin Hurdles Final
The women’s 100m hurdles produced one of the closest finishes of the night, with mere hundredths of a second separating the top three athletes.
South Africa’s Marione Fourie secured a third-place podium finish, clocking 12.68 seconds in a blanket finish. Nadine Visser of the Netherlands claimed the victory in 12.65, just ahead of Poland’s Pia Skrzyszowska, who took second in 12.66.
Smit Claims Javelin Bronze to Cap Off Demanding Tour
In the field events, Douw Smit delivered another solid performance in a busy international schedule by finishing third in the men’s javelin.
Smit, who has competed across Kenya, Ghana, Poland, and consecutive meetings in the Czech Republic over the past few weeks, produced a best throw of 83.90 metres.
The event was won by Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage with an impressive mark of 86.57, while former world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada took the silver medal with a throw of 84.27.
Athlete | Event | Result | Position | Notes |
Bayanda Walaza | Men’s 100m | 9.94s | 🥇 1st | Equaled Personal Best |
Sinesipho Dambile | Men’s 150m | 14.78s | 🥈 2nd | New African Record |
Marione Fourie | Women’s 100m H | 12.68s | 🥉 3rd | 0.03s separating top three |
Douw Smit | Men’s Javelin | 83.90m | 🥉 3rd | Fifth international meeting of the tour |
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