Johan Grobler delivered a stunning performance on Saturday evening to snatch the silver medal in the men’s javelin throw final, and Taylon Bieldt shattered the SA junior 100m hurdles record on the penultimate day of the World U-20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland.
Launching a career record of 80.59m, Grobler smashed his previous personal best by nearly six metres to bag South Africa’s third medal of the age group spectacle.
While he had taken the early lead with his impressive first attempt, Indian athlete Neeraj Chopra broke the world junior record with a massive 86.48m throw to earn the gold medal.
Bieldt, meanwhile, set a national U-20 mark in the women’s high hurdles semifinals.
The 17-year-old athlete clocked 13.35 to better the previous national record of 13.47 which had been set by Arnell Jacobs in Bloemfontein in April 1997.
Bieldt, who also set a national youth mark of 13.18 over the lower U-18 barriers last season, finished third in her semifinal and booked a place in the final.
Earlier in Saturday’s evening session, middle-distance runner George Kusche took third place in his 800m semifinal in 1:47.53, crossing the line just 0.08 outside his personal best, as he missed out on a place in the final by 0.04.
Bieldt will be the only SA athlete in action on the final day of the junior showpiece, turning out at 4.05pm (SA time) in the high hurdles final. The race will be broadcast live on SuperSport 4.
* Results of all finals are available in our Results section