SA athletes build on form

Johannesburg - Khotso Mokoena and Lehann Fourie continued their early season form on the global indoor athletics circuit at the weekend.

Mokoena, the Olympic long jump silver medallist, was narrowly edged by Ignisious Gaisah, of Ghana, in Düsseldorf on Friday night.

The South African, who leapt 7.98 metres, led the competition until the last round when Gaisah equalled the distance to win the competition on count-back.

In Moscow a week earlier, Mokoena jumped a season's best of 8.04m to finish second behind Russian Aleksandr Menkov who leapt 8.24m - the best distance in the world this year.

Mokoena was left with work to do, however, ahead of the World Indoor Championships in Istanbul, Turkey, in March.

The former world indoor champion was still 0.11m short of the 8.15m qualifying standard.

Fourie, meanwhile, bettered the 60m hurdles standard for the second time this season at the Millrose Games, in New York, on Saturday.

The African outdoors champion clocked 7.65 seconds, trailing Americans David Oliver, Terrence Trammell and Aries Merritt to finish fourth.

Fourie was 0.01 off the personal best he set in Boston a week earlier.