Dynamite comes in three packages and this South African trio made waves at the Olympic Stadium on Tuesday after all qualifying for the men’s 200m semi-final.
Shaun Maswanganyi, Anaso Jobodwana and Clarence Munyai competed in three different heats of the thrilling event.
According to TeamSA, Munyai posted the fastest time of the trio after claiming the fourth spot behind American Noah Lyles. Munyai clocked a season’s best of 20.49sec whereas Maswanganyi ran in 20.58 while Jobodwana secured his semi-final spot in 20.78.
Athletics – Men’s 200m heats: Clarence Munyai (20.49), Shaun Maswanganyi (20.58) and Anaso Jobodwana (20.78) all qualified for the semi-finals. We’ll see them in action again later today ???#TeamSA #Tokyo2020
— Team South Africa (@TeamSA2020) August 3, 2021
The 29-year-old Jobodwana went up first in his third Olympics, and managed to cross the line third, right behind Jamaican Rasheed Dwyer and Nigerian Divine Oduduru.
The 20-year-old Maswanganyi was up next, and created a dominant force in his heat. The impressive youngster made a fast start and crossed the line with Trinidad and Tobago’s Jereem Richards. He was handed the second spot.
Munyai was the third of the South African force of sprinters and he competed from lane three in the seventh and final heat. He is the current South African record holder in the 200m, with a time of 19.69, set in 2018 at the South African national championships.
Even though Munyai finished fourth, his time of 20.49 was comfortably enough within the three fastest non-automatic qualifiers to progress to the semis, Team SA adds.
Picture: Anton Geyser / Team SA