SA’s van Zyl wins in Qatar

LJ van Zyl, fresh from his victory in the African Athletics Championships in Addis Ababa a week ago, recorded another fine win in the Qatar Super Grand Prix in Doha tonight.

His winning time was 49.03 seconds in a race that included the leading two Jamaican stars.

The 36-year-old veteran, Danny McFarlane, finished a close second in 49.10 seconds with Isa Phillips clocking 49.71 seconds in third place.

Frantz Kruger, the former South African now competing for Finland, did not have a successful evening with the discus. He struggled in the circle and managed to record only one out four legal throws, achieving a distance of 58.80m.

The competition was won by Ehsan Hadadi of Iran with a world class 67.20m.

Long jumper Karin Mey, who decided not to make herself available for the SA team to the Beijing Olympics, failed in a top-class field with four no-jumps. Tatyana Kotova was the winner with a fine 6.83m.

Mey has joined a club in Turkey and hopes to compete in next years World Championships. - Sapa