SA javelin duo vow to improve
2008-08-19 09:14
Beijing - South African javelin champion Justine Robbeson said on Tuesday that she was bitterly disappointed because she failed to qualify for the final at the Bird's Nest.
Robbeson, 23, said: "That's the highs and lows of athletics - what can you do."
The torment of the qualification round was etched in the face of Robbeson who was in the first major competition of her career. Injury had prevented the African record holder from competing at both the Commonwealth Games and the World Championships.
'Terrible to wait'
"I certainly don't want to blame it on this, but it's been a huge step up from a (IAAF) Grand Prix to the Olympics. I don't know what happened out there because I just didn't feel right with my first two throws.
"It then came right with the third," said Robbeson who opened with a 56.75, well below her best of 63.49.
Her second try fell short of the 55m arc, but her third, a 59.63, put her 11th on the qualification list with 12 going to the final.
"It was terrible waiting for the 26 other throws of that final round," said Robbeson who was the first to throw in each round.
'Nothing I could do'
"After the third I felt sure I was in (the final) but I had to wait for all the other throws to see. After five I was dropped to 12th by the Romanian - I just wanted to hang in - but then on the second last throw the German girl pushed me down to 13th. There was nothing I could do," continued Robbeson.
"You only have three throws and every throw counts. You'd think I would be used to it coming from the heptathlon, but I have never thrown big in my opening trials."
After Monday nights silver medal winning performance by long jumper Khotso Mokoena, it was 24 hours of highs and lows for the athletics squad, with the morning's two other athletes also failing to progress through to the next round.
Maximum she had to offer
Sunette Viljoen, who was a late addition to the squad last week, competed in group A of the javelin qualification, but fell way short of the 62.24m personal best that eventually secured her a place at the Olympics.
Although posting three legal throws, her 55.58 was the maximum she had to offer, and far from the 61.50 automatic qualifying distance.
"I was throwing well in warm up, but tensed up in competition - there's a small technical problem which I need to correct, but I wasn't happy.
'Know how to build for 2012'
"Spotakova (the Czeck thrower) suggested I slow my throw down, but I am a smaller, faster thrower," said the Potchefstroom-based athlete who stopped around two metres short of the line in the first throws.
"Perhaps it was the difference in tracks...the warm-up is tartan and this is mondo which is faster. I'm just glad to be here after the on-off-on situation, now I know how to build for London (2012)," said Viljoen.
"I don't think that (the selection matter) affected me mentally, but it was hard to get my preparation right with that going on."
Viljoen threw her qualifying distance at a meeting that was not recognised on the ASA fixture, resulting in her initially being left out of the team until Sam Ramsamy, the former SA Olympic Committee president intervened on her behalf.
'Had bad start'
In the 200m sprint heat, Isobel le Roux, 21, ran well below her best of 22:69s, finishing seventh in her heat which was won by Jamaican Veronica Campbell Brown.
The despondent Tukkies athlete said: "I'm really disappointed with myself; it's not even a personal bests time. I had a bad start and could't catch them. I just wasn't in it."
Also in action was ex-South African Karin Mey, competing in the long jump. Mey who set South Africa's all time long jump best of 6.93, was competing for Turkey as Karin Melis but was only able to reach 6.42m to place 25 in the qualifying round.
- SAPA