SHANGHAI – World champion and Olympic silver medallist Luvo Manyonga held off a stern challenge from Chinese favourite Shi Yuhao to win the long jump competition for a second year at the Diamond League meeting in Shanghai, China on Saturday.
Manyonga, who claimed the honours at the same meeting last year with a distance of 8.61 metres, managed to hit the sand in the long jump pit with an evening best of 8.56m this time around.
Yuhao was next best with 8.43m, followed by Australian Henry Frayne (8.15m).
The Paarl athlete was tied with Yuhao on 8.43m going into his final jump, but managed to produce a huge leap to claim the honours.
There was no luck for SA’s Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Sunette Viljoen in the javelin, with her evening best of 60.79m seeing her end sixth, well short of the 66.85m posted by Chinese favourite Lyu Huihui.
On the track, the South Africans found the going tough, with Wenda Nel ending fifth in the 400 metres hurdles in 55.63, while in the 800m, Rynhardt van Rensburg finished eighth in 1:46.57.
The next leg of the Diamond League will take place in Eugene, USA, on May 26.