Justine Palframan and Tamzin Thomas headline the women’s 200m on Thursday 8 March at the second Liquid Telecom Athletix Grand Prix Series meet. The field is a blend of up and coming athletes and established sprinters.
Tamzin Thomas is the 2015 African Junior Champion in the 100m and was part of the winning relay squad in the 4x100m Relay at the 2016 CAA 20th African Senior Championships in Durban. Having recently moved to University of Johannesburg for study purposes, Thomas now trains under former SA 200m record holder, Morne Nagel. She has a best of 11.53sec in the 100m, run on 28 April 2017 and a 200m best of 23.35sec (Germiston, 2 April 2016). Thomas opened her 2018 account at the Roodepoort Meeting, clocking 11.64sec for 3rd place. This will be Thomas’ first year running in the senior ranks. Running as a Junior, she finished on the podium (3rd) at the ASA Senior National Championships in the 100m in 2015 and 2016 and was 4th in the 200m in 2015 and 2nd in 2017 at the Senior Championships.
Nabeela Parker won the South African 100m title in 2014 as a 19-year-old before she took a leave of absence from the sport to return in 2017 where she finished 2nd at the Senior National Championships in the 100m and 5th in the 200m. Parker also clocked a Personal Best of 11.50sec and 24.04sec for the 100m and 200m, respectively at those National Championships in the semi-finals. Parker finished 4th in the 100m at the Meeting, clocking 11.74sec.
Justine Palframan has to be the favorite in the 200m. The Matie student is predominantly a 400m exponent, winning the World University Games championships in 2015 and then the silver medal in 2017 in her specialist event. She boasts a PB of 22.84sec for the 200m run in Kortrijk, Belgium on 08 July 2017. Palframan finished 3rd in the 400m at the Meeting in Roodepoort, equaling her 5th best ever time over the one lap race. She did run in the Varsity Athletics Meet a day later, winning the 200m in 23.43sec on tired legs and then had to run in the relays too. How much that has taken out of her remains to be seen.
Leungo Matlhaku made the finals of the 2016 Africa Championships in the 100m. She clocked 11.56sec in the semi-finals to progress to those finals. The 24-year-old was part of the 2014 4x400m bronze medal winning team of Botswana at the African Championships. She ran her PB in the 100m at the first Liquid Telecom Athletix Grand Prix Series Meeting in Roodepoort where she crossed the line in 11.55sec for second place behind Tebogo Mamathu.
Cassidy Williamson is 19 years old and set her 100m and 200m PB’s in 2018. Both came at a League Meeting in Tshwane on 03 February where she ran 11.45sec and 23.79sec, respectively. She had gone faster in the 100m (11.45sec) a week later, however that time is a wind assisted (+2.9m/sec).
EVENT INFORMATION: Liquid Telecom Athletix Grand Prix Series
The Liquid Telecom Athletix Grand Prix is more than just a show, it enables athletes the opportunity to compete against South African and global talent; for them to be nurtured and invested in, so that they have the potential of becoming green and gold medalists.
Dates and Venues:
| Thursday, 08 March 2018 | Tuks Stadium, Tshwane |
| Thursday, 22 March 2018 | Dal Josaphat Stadium, Paarl |
Ticket Prices:
Main Pavilion Tickets
| Standard Ticket: | R 100 each |
| Children under 16 years of age: | R 50 each |
Open Stand/Grass Banks
| Standard Ticket: | R 50 each |
| Children under 16 years of age: | R 50 each |
ONLINE TICKET SALES are open and can be purchased via www.webtickets.co.za
Tickets can also be purchased at the gate of each event.
Visit the event’s Facebook page for regular announcements!
Facebook: AthletixGrandPrix
Twitter: @AthletixGP
Website: www.athletixgrandprix.com
ABOUT LIQUID TELECOM
Liquid Telecom is a leading communications services and solutions provider across 13 countries in Eastern, central and Southern Africa that serves carrier, enterprise and retail customers with high-speed, reliable connectivity and digital services.
It has built Africa’s largest independent fibre network, spanning over 50,000km, and operates state-of-the-art data centres in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Nairobi, with a combined 6,800 square meters of rack space.
This is in addition to leading cloud-based services, such as Microsoft Office365 and Microsoft Azure, and innovative digital content provision, including Netflix, NBA, TED and Kwese Play.
Through this combined offering, Liquid Telecom is enhancing customers’ experience on their digital journey.
About Athletics South Africa:
Athletics South Africa (ASA) is the national governing body for the sport of athletics (including Track and Field, Cross Country, Road Running and Race Walking) in South Africa, which is a member of the IAAF, and the Confederation of African Athletics. The association is based in Johannesburg.