Distance runner Maxime Chaumeton showcased his superb form on Saturday, breaking his own South African 5km record in Tokyo, while sprinter Akani Simbine won again at the Diamond League meeting in Shanghai.
A week after winning the national 5 000m title at the SA Senior Track and Field Championships in Potchefstroom, where he stunned SA 5 000m record holder Adriaan Wildschutt, Chaumeton finished fourth at the Asics Speed Race in the Japanese capital in 13:13.
He put up a fight against a strong field, taking five seconds off his national road running mark of 13:18 set in Saudi Arabia in 2023. Ugandan athlete Herbert Kibet won the race in 13:00.
Simbine wins in Shanghai
Meanwhile, Simbine continued his dominance in the early stages of the Diamond League series, winning the men’s 100m race in 9.98 seconds in Shanghai.
Simbine, who also won the short sprint at the opening leg of the top-flight track and field series in Xiamen last week, edged out Jamaican athlete Kishane Thompson who took second place in 9.99. Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo of Botswana was third in 10.03.
In other events at the Diamond League meeting in Shanghai, Marione Fourie finished third in the women’s 100m hurdles race in 12.62, Olympic silver medallist Jo-Ane du Plessis took third place in the women’s javelin throw competition with a best attempt of 62.53m, and Lythe Pillay ended seventh in the men’s 400m race in 45.39.
