SA athletes resume hunt for medals on day three of the World Athletics Championships

SPORT

After the opening two days of hits and misses, South Africa is back at the National Athletics Centre to resume the hunt for medals at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

Pole vaulter Mirè Reinstorf and 400m double specialist Zenéy van der Walt will be in action on Monday evening.

Reinstorf is in Group A. The 21-year-old must attain a 4.65m mark or at least rank among the best 12 to make the final on Wednesday night.

Reinstorf is one of South Africa's prospects who boasts major junior titles. She won a World Under-20 Championship gold medal in Nairobi, Kenya, two years ago and followed up with the African crown last year.

She is the African and national Under-20 record holder with a 4.15m clearance from the global junior championships in Kenya.

Meanwhile, Van der Walt will attempt a double at the Budapest championships when she gets her campaign in the 400m hurdles competition tonight.

Van der Walt faces a big test tonight competing in two different events just two hours apart - the 400m hurdles and the 400m flat race.

The 23-year-old must be in the top four of her heat or go through as one of the four fastest times across the five heats, for a place in the 400m hurdles semifinals on Tuesday night.

She will attempt a place in the final of the 400m flat race when she lines up in the semifinal in heat 3 at 7.06pm. 

After taking part in the opening round of the hurdles, she will be back on track two hours later to run the first heat of the 400m flat at 9.12pm. Van der Walt must be in the top or one of two athletes with the best times across the three heats to earn a place in the final.

She is a 400m hurdles world junior and youth champion having won the two titles at the 2017 and 2018 championships, and a bronze medallist at last year's Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in the UK.