By Thathe Msimango
The South Africa mixed relay team came agonisingly close to collecting a medal in the World Athletics Cross Country Championship in Bathurst, Australia.
The team that consisted of Tshepo Tshite, Caster Semenya, Prudence Sekgodiso and Ryan Mphahlele put up a strong performance in an 8 km relay event, clocking a time of 23:50 to finish in the fourth spot on Saturday.
The Australian team who earned a bronze medal clocked 23:26 – which is 24 seconds better than Semenya and Co.
Mphahlele, the national 1,500m champion, said he is proud of the team’s performance.
“I think we gave it all on the day but the medal didn’t come. But I’m not disappointed at all as we did the country proud. This is a huge result for us,” he said.
In the men’s 10 km senior event, multiple national champion Precious Mashele was the first South African to finish. He was placed in 16th position for a time of 30:44. Even in the 2019 event in Denmark, Mashele took 16th spot. Overall, the men’s senior team was ranked fifth in team standings. The women’s senior team obtained seventh position on the day.
In the juniors category, the men nearly won a team medal, finishing fourth in the standings. Meanwhile, the junior women’s team was in eighth position overall.
Picture above : Ryan Mphahlele
Image source : Supplied
