LA CHAUX-DE-FONDS, Switzerland - Thwarted by an illegal tailwind, 100m hurdles ace Rikenette Steenkamp was denied the South African record in La Chaux-de-Fonds in Switzerland on Sunday.
Dipping below 13 seconds for the second time in a week, Steenkamp won her race with a wind-assisted time of 12.92 seconds.
Steenkamp’s time was 0.02 faster than Corien Botha’s national record but it could not be recognised due to an illegal tailwind of 2.1 metres per second.
She finished ahead of Eefje Boons of the Netherlands, who finished second in 13.03 with Deborah John of Trinidad and Tobago bagging bronze in 13.19.
Last week Steenkamp became only the second South African woman to dip below 13 seconds when she finished second in Ostrava.
While Steenkamp has dipped below the B-qualifying standard for the IAAF World Championships in London next month, she will have to take another chunk off her personal best to reach the A-qualifyng time of 12.77.
South African sprinter Emile Erasmus also earned a podium place finishing second in the 100m clocking a time of 10.21 with David Lima of Portugal winning in a time of 10.14.
Rio Olympian Clarence Munyai raced to the 200m title at the African Junior Championships in Algeria.
Munyai posted the second fastest time of his career when he crossed the line in a time of 20.22.
His victory comes days after he posted a new 300m world junior best of 31.61 in Ostrava.
It was the same race in which Wayde van Niekerk posted a new world best of 30.81.
Making his Diamond League debut, former South African 100m record-holder Henricho Bruintjies narrowly missed out on a medal in Paris on Saturday.
Bruintjies finished fourth posting a time of 10.23 seconds which was the same time given to Dutch athlete Churandy Martina, who finished third on a photo finish.
African champion Ben Youssef Meite of the Ivory Coast won the race in a time of 9.99 with Yunier Perez of Cuba finishing second in 10.05.
The race was reduced to six athletes after two sprinters were disqualified for false starts.
Earlier, South African 110m hurdles record-holder Antonio Alkana finished his race in fifth place posting a time of 13.24 which was the third fastest time of his career.
Alkana posted his second fastest time during the heats earlier in the day clocking 13.21.
The Star