Publications
Partners
Johannesburg - Two-lap specialist Andre Olivier and javelin thrower Sunette Viljoen, the lone South Africans in the field, both set season's bests to finish third in their respective events at the Diamond League meeting in Rome, Italy, on Thursday night.
Olivier tucked into the middle of the pack on the first lap and charged through the field off the final bend to cross the line in one minute, 44.37 seconds (1:44.37) in the men's 800m race. He missed his personal best by just 0.08 seconds.
Ethiopian teenager Mohammed Aman won in 1:43.61 - the fastest time in the world this year - with Pierre-Ambroise Bosse of France taking second place in 1:43.91.
Viljoen took the early lead in the women's javelin throw with a 63.49m heave in the first round.
She was unable to improve on that effort, however, with Christina Obergfoll of Germany securing victory after launching a best throw of 66.45m.
Russian Mariya Abakumova also edged out the South African, producing a 64.03m effort in the fourth round to grab second place.
Johan Cronje, who lines up in the men's mile, is the only South African in the provisional entry lists for the sixth leg of the Diamond League series in Oslo, Norway, next week.
Cronje broke the national 1 500m record at the opening leg of the series in Doha, Qatar, last month.
