SA WRAP: Du Plessis finishes fourth as relay teams keep SA hopes alive

Jo-Ane du Plessis produced the best performance by the South African team thus far at the World Athletics Championships, finishing fourth in the women's javelin throw final in Tokyo, Japan on Saturday.

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Turning out on the penultimate day of competition, Du Plessis landed the javelin at 63.06m with her second-round attempt.

Juleisy Angulo of Ecuador won gold with a national record of 65.12m, while Latvia's Anete Sietina (64.64m) and Australian athlete Mackenzie Little (63.58m) earned silver and bronze.

"I think fourth is the worst position to finish in. I mean it's so close to a medal and it could have been one, so I'm of course disappointed," Du Plessis said on her best.

"But last night (in the qualifying round) I wasn't sure if I would make the final, so ending up fourth in the world is fantastic in the circumstances. My goal was to be in the top five and I'm very happy."

There was immense relief for the South African men's 4x100m relay team after winning an appeal in the first-round heats.

Though they did not finish the race, it was decided by officials that South Africa had a genuine case after after an incident against Italy at the first changeover.

It was then decided that the national quartet of Shaun Maswanganyi, Sinesipho Dambile, Bradley Nkoana and Akani Simbine, can re-run their race in a solo time trial at 3.33am (SA time) on Sunday morning. Should they run 38.34 seconds or quicker, they will qualify for the final to be held later in the day.

In the men's 4x400m relay heats, the SA quartet of Gardeo Isaacs, Udeme Okon, Leendert Koekemoer and Lythe Pillay won their heat in 2:58.81. They automatically progressed to the final to be held on Sunday.

There was disappointment, however, for the SA women's 4x400m team of Shirley Nekhubui, Marlie Viljoen, Hannah van Niekerk and Zeney van der Walt, who ended seventh in their heat in 3:28.14 and were eliminated.

In other events, Wayne Snyman finished 43rd in the men's 20km walk in 1:30:12, in a race won by Bazil's Ciao Bonfim in 1:18:35. Victor Hogan ended 24th overall in the men's discus throw with a best attempt of 61.51m. He did not progress to the final.

Mine de Klerk (24th, 17.39m), Ashley Erasmus (30th, 16.90m) and Colette Uys (32nd, 16.68m) were eliminated in the opening round of the women's shot put.

"The relays are now our next best chance of earning a medal at this mega championship," said James Moloi, the President of Athletics South Africa, who welcomed the decision to give South Africa another opportunity to run the 4x100m race.

"Running alone, has a good and bad side to it, but we remain positive that we will achieve a qualifier into the final. We look forward to the fight of our lives on Sunday."

TEAM SA SCHEDULE:

3.33am - 4x100m relay men, rerun

1.25pm – 4x400m relay men, final

2.20pm – 4x100m relay men, final.