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Cape Town - There were mixed results for South Africa's
elite athletes with Ruswahl Samaai providing the best performance
at the first of two legs in the IAAF Diamond League series in Zurich,
Switzerland on Thursday.
Landing at 8.20m with his penultimate attempt, Samaai took second place in the men's long jump, edging Jamaican athlete Tajay Gayle into third position on count back.
Though he was typically consistent, world champion Luvo Manyonga narrowly missed out on the podium, ending fourth with a leap of 8.19m.
While his countrymen were able to produce a better fight in the battle, former African champion Zarck Visser was unable to find his best form, settling for eighth position with a 7.60m effort.
World indoor champion Juan Miguel Echevarria of Cuba took the win with a commanding performance, setting a 2019 world lead of 8.65m.
On the track, taking a back seat by the narrowest of margins, Akani Simbine grabbed fifth spot in the men's 100m battle.
Dipping on the line in 10.10, Simbine was 0.12 behind American winner Noah Lyles and just 0.03 outside a place in the top three.
The 14th and final leg of the IAAF Diamond League series will host the other half of the disciplines being contested in the annual campaign and will be held in Brussels, Belgium on Friday, September 6, 2019.
