TWO South African 1500m runners, Juan van Deventer, 26, and Peter van der Westhuizen, 24, qualified for the World Athletics Championships in Berlin in August with brilliant performances and personal best times at an IAAF Grand Prix meeting in New York on Saturday night.
TWO South African 1500m runners, Juan van Deventer, 26, and Peter van der Westhuizen, 24, qualified for the World Athletics Championships in Berlin in August with brilliant performances and personal best times at an IAAF Grand Prix meeting in New York on Saturday night.
Van Deventer finished second in a time of 3min:34,30sec, behind Leonel Manzana of the United States (3:34,14), while Van der Westhuizen finished fourth (3:35,33).
Manzana just managed to hold off the tall Van Deventer who finished seventh in last year's Olympic Games in Beijing. Henoh Legesse of Ethiopia (3:34,42) separated the South Africans.
Van Deventer improved his time and is fourth on the South African all time list while Van der Westhuizen jumped from 13th to fifth. - Sapa