Most of the line-up at the Liquid Telecom Athletix Grand Prix Series Meeting 2 at Tuks Stadium, Tshwane will be racing in their first ever 150m competitive men’s race – an event that is not often raced – on Thursday, 08 March 2018.
As a non-standard distance, there are no official records, but rather only best times. There are also 150m races on the straight and on the bend. The official world best for the 150m run on bend is 14.83sec run by Michael Johnson on 01 August 1986 in Atlanta, USA.
Justin Gatlin is the 100m world champion after winning the title in London in 2017, clocking 9.9sec. His life time best over the 100m is 9.74sec run in Doha on 15 May 2015. Gatlin also boasts a best of 19.57sec in the 200m (Eugene, Oregan – 28 June 2015). This will be the first race of 2018 for him.
Anaso Jobodwana is likely to be the biggest challenge to Justin Gatlin having run a wind-aided 10.07sec 100m (Tshwane, 23 February) and a 20.13sec 200m (Roodepoort, 01 March). After two years of battling with injury, Jobodwana is healthy and injury-free and already showing signs of his former form where he was able to run 19.87sec to earn the bronze medal at the 2015 World Championships. Jobodwana has gone on record saying that he is eagerly looking forward to the match up against Gatlin. Already having some races under his belt, could well prove to be an advantage to Jobodwana over Gatlin.
Trentavis Friday is a training partner of Gatlin and is the 2014 World Junior champion over 200m. His 100m best time is 10.00sec run on 05 July 2014 in Oregan. He also boasts a best of 20.33sec for the 200m (Kernersville, North Carolina – 31 May 2014). Friday was part of the first Liquid Telecom Athletix Grand Prix Series Meeting where he finished 6th, clocking 20.61sec.
Simon Magakwe was the first South African to break 10sec in the 100m when he clocked 9.98sec in Pretoria on 12 April 2014. A multiple SA champion, Magakwe is now training in the Cape under the guidance of Paul Gorries, the former World Junior champion in the 200m (Chile, 2000). Magakwe opened his 2018 season with a win in the Meeting in Roodepoort on 01 March, defeating Henricho Bruintjies 10.27sec to 10.28sec.
Roscoe Engel was crowned Western Province champion for the umpteenth time on Monday, 05 March in both the 100m and 200m. He is one of few athletes to have raced a competitive 150m, clocking 15.51sec in Parow on 13 December 2014. His 100m best came in 2009 (10.19sec – Durban 09 April 2011) but his best in the 200m was run in 2015, a 20.15sec time on 09 May in Potchefstroom.
Luxolo Adams placed third at Roodepoort last Thursday, clocking a Personal Best time of 20.45sec. Adams has progressively improved over the 200m and made several breakthroughs in 2017, improving his Personal Best on two occasions and equaling it on one occasion.
Sibusiso Matsenjwa is the national record holder for Swaziland in the 60m (6.8sec –Birmingham, 03 March 2018), 100m (10.31sec – La-Chaux-de-Fonds, 2 July 2017), 200m (20.09sec – Tshwane, 27 January 2018) and the 400m (46.79sec – 03 February 2018). While he has run six races in 2018, this will be his first major outing for the season and based on his 20.09sec best in January, Matsenjwa could be a very dangerous protagonist indeed.
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.