SAFFERS IN TOKYO: Leotlela fifth in 100m final; Nene, Pillay into 400m semis

National champion Gift Leotlela again produced the best performance by a South African athlete on Day 2 of the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, taking fifth place in the men's 100m final on Sunday.

Leotlela, who set a personal best of 9.87 seconds in the first-round heats the day before, crossed the line in 9.95 in the final.

Experienced countryman Akani Simbine completed the race in 10.04, taking seventh position.

Earlier, in the 100m semifinals, Simbine was third in his race in 9.96 and Leotlela had taken third place in his semifinal race in 9.97.

In the men's 10 000m final, Adriaan Wildschutt finished 10th in a slow, tactical race in 28:59.47.

Up front, French athlete Jimmy Gressier won gold in 28:55.77, kicking hard to triumph in a blanket finish.

SA champion Zakithi Nene won his first-round 400m race in 44.34 and Lythe Pillay took second position in his heat in 44.73.

Both athletes progressed safely through to the men's one-lap semifinals to be held on Tuesday.

Marione Fourie, the SA record holder in the 100m hurdles, was second in her heat in 12.86 seconds, also qualifying for the semifinals of her specialist event to be held on Monday.

Middle-distance runner Tshepo Tshite did enough to take sixth position in his 1 500m heat in 3:36.36.

He will be back on the track for the semifinals on Monday. His compatriot, Ryan Mphahlele, settled for 13th spot in his first-round race in the metric mile in 3:45.22, and he was eliminated ahead of the penultimate round.

Shirley Nekhubvi, who was a member of the mixed 4x400m relay team that finished sixth in the final the day before, also ended sixth, this time in her first-round heat in the women's 400m event.

She completed the one-lap race in 51.82 and missed out on a place in the semifinals.

Miranda Coetzee, who formed part of the team who broke the African record in the mixed 4x400m relay heats, trailed home in 57.78 seconds, finishing last in her race in the opening round of the 400m sprint.

Brian Raats did not clear the opening height of 2.16m in the men's high jump. Both were eliminated as a consequence.

"Definitely a tough day in the office for the Rainbow Nation. However, we are happy for those who have qualified to the next rounds of their respective events.

"There are still a number of athletes still in competition and a bit of pressure is now upon them to fight their way to the respective semifinals and finals," said an optimistic James Moloi, the President of Athletics South Africa.

Schedule of SA athletes competing on day three (Monday, 15 September):

EARLY SESSION

00.30am – marathon men, final (Elroy Gelant)

2.05am – pole vault women, qualification (Mire Reinstorf)

4.20am – 400m hurdles women, heats (Zeney van der Walt, Rogail Joseph)

LATE SESSION

12.35pm – 400m hurdles men, heats (Sabelo Dhlamini)

12.40pm – long jump men, qualification (Cheswill Johnson)

1.20pm – 110m hurdles men, heats (Mondray Barnard, Antonio Alkana, John Adesola)

2.05pm – 100m hurdles women, semifinals (Marione Fourie)

2.30pm – 1 500m men, semifinals (Tshepo Tshite)

3.20pm – 100m hurdles women, final (Fourie).