LUANDA, Angola, December 12 (ANA) – One more gold and bronze medal came Team South Africa’s way on day three of the 2016 Africa Union Sports Council Region 5 Games here on Sunday.
Athletics and netball saw action for the first time and it was the former that delivered SA’s fourth gold medal of the Games after judo had won three on Saturday.
Competing in the discus at the Coqueiros Stadium it was Bloemfontein’s Tharina van der Walt who won the event with an impressive throw of 47.18m.
Athletics was only scheduled to start on Monday but organisers saw fit to bring things forward by a day.
Sunday’s bronze came from judo as that code wrapped up their Games. Competing in the team event, Chante Labuschagne, Mosa Thetsane, Byron Grobler and Vernon Henry lost to Angola and then beat Botswana for that code’s eighth medal. Substitutes were Jasmine Martin and Regan Wilson.
The team will now enter a three-day training camp at the Athletes’ Village, conducted by the coaches of South Africa and Zimbabwe.
At the Cidadela Pavilion, the venue for both netball and boxing, the former code took on Lesotho while just across the parking lot three of South Africa’s boxers took to the ring.
After each team had rendered an impressive singing of their respective national anthems, the South African netballers were quickly into their stride.
Goal shooter Danielle Lochner opened the scoring after just 40 seconds, followed quickly by goal attack Chantelle Swart. – African News Agency (ANA)
