JOHANNESBURG – The South African 4x100m relay team missed out on a medal in the final at the IAAF World Championships in Doha.
The quartet made up of national 100m record holder Akani Simbine, Simon Magakwe, Thando Dlodlo and Clarence Munyai finished fifth with a time of 37.73 seconds.
The team was more polished the night before when they raced to a new South African and continental record of 37.65.
But they have finally delivered on the country’s relay promise clocking the joint eighth-fastest of all-time.
The United States was in a class of their own winning the final in a time of 37.10 which is the second-best time ever. They were followed by the British quartet clocking 37.36 with Japan rounding off the podium with 37.43.
South African 100m hurdles record-holder Rikenette Steenkamp demonstrated her grit making it into the semi-final of her specialist event at her maiden world championships.
Steenkamp produced a season’s best finishing sixth in her heat with a time of 12.97 seconds earning a place in the semi-final.
The 26-year-old missed automatic qualification for the world championships by 0.02s but made it to the global showpiece thanks to an invitation from the IAAF.
Top female middle-distance runner Dominique Scott-Efurd found the going tough in the 5 000m final where she finished in 15th place in a time of 15:24.47.