JOHANNESBURG - South African 100m women’s hurdles champion, Rikenette Steenkamp, raced to her fourth victory in Europe in Gothenburg on Tuesday night in a time of 13.14 seconds.
As has become the norm this season the wind again was a definite factor. The Tuks/HPC-athlete ran into a headwind of 1.2 metres per second at the Folksam Grand Prix-meeting.
Norway’s Isabelle Pedersen, who is former youth and junior world champion, was second in 13.20. Pedersen’s season’s best time of 12.75 ranks her 19th on the IAAF-list. Karolina Koleczek (Poland) was third in 13.32.
Steenkamp has competed in five races in Europe this season, winning four of them. The only time she did not win was in Ostrava, but that was her breakthrough race. The Tuks/HPC-athlete finished second in 12.99 dipping under 13sec for the first time.
Steenkamp rates Tuesday night’s race as one of her best performances.
“I am more than happy with the way my race played out. The weather conditions were cold and windy, and that does influence how you run. We have worked on a few things before the race. One of it was to be faster out of the blocks.
"It worked as I was off to a good start. The rest of my race was technically sound as well. I honestly think I had a better race than what my time indicates but then again I was not chasing a fast time I just wanted to win.
"It is a confidence booster knowing I am capable of beating athletes who have run sub 13 seconds times.”
Steenkamp will be returning to South Africa to prepare for the World Student Games in Taipei.