Ostrava Stadium - Czech Republic
LJ Van Zyls’ incredible 2011 continued in Ostrava, Czech Republic on Tuesday 31 May; when the 25-year old decimated another classy field, equaled his PB and National Record (47.66sec) and ran his 4th time this season under 48sec.
Van Zyl took the lead from the third hurdle and was never threatened. His new approach of attacking from the gun is paying massive dividends. In the past Van Zyl would rely on his blistering finishing kick, but after solid preparation in the off-season, he has changed his tactics, to good effect. His very first race of the season saw him shatter the 11 year-old national record. Van Zyl then went on to take just under a second off his 400m flat personal best and with that he became a very real threat for the Gold in Deagu. The trick is to hold this form.
“I trained very hard before the start of the season and I hope I can stay in good shape until the World Championships.”
Van Zyl finished more than half a second ahead of runner up David Green (48.47) with Johnny Dutch rounding out the top three (48.72).
Van Zyl will be joined by his coach in Europe for a while, before heading across the Atlantic to race in the Adidas Grand Prix in New York on 11 June.
Sunette Viljoen continued her steady march to the World Championships in Daegu, Korea with another solid performance in the Javelin. Viljoen has been improving with each competition this year and if she continues on these lines, could well be hitting the 66m territory again come the World Championships – and that is Medal territory.
Viljoen started “slow” with an opener of 57.93m, followed by a disappointing 55.85m. But in round three she found her rhythm and sent the Javelin to 61.72m – a season’s best by more than a meter, good enough for third and also a World Championship Qualifier. Beginning to show consistency, she hit 60.69m in round four before rounding off with two throws of 57.60m and 57.76m.
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