An archive photo of Carina Horn. Photo: Provided.
The national track and field championship for senior athletes is currently being decided in Potchefstroom and two of South Africa’s sprint stars have already flexed their muscles.
Carina Horn is undoubtedly back in the fast track and she won her 100 m heat in a time of 11.29 seconds to qualify for the final of the event.
The 34-year-old sprinter is the defending national champion, while the South African 100 m record also stands behind her name.
The talented athlete tested positive for banned substances in 2019, but she has maintained that she is innocent and that her supplements were the real culprit.
According to reports, she even enlisted the help of a scientist and the International Athletics Association’s Integrity Committee finally complied; she was subsequently suspended for two years instead of the usual four years.
According to Horn, those two years during which she tried to prove her innocence were the most difficult of her career.
However, she did not throw in the towel and described last year’s national title as something “very special”.
Then Akani Simbine also really let loose in his 100 m run to win with a spectacular time of 9.92 seconds.
Akani Simbine yesterday in Stockholm. Photo: Twitter.
None of the other athletes could turn under ten seconds. Benjamin Richardson’s 10.17 seconds was the next best time in the heat.
In the 400 m hurdles, the promising Zenéy van der Walt finished second in her run with a time of 56.85 seconds.
Taylon Bieldt was a short head ahead of her with a time of 56.69 seconds.
Women athletes who advanced to the 100m final:
Sandri van Rooyen (lane one), Charlize Eilerd (lane two), Kayla Murray (lane three), Tazmin Thomas (lane four), Carina Horn (lane five), Rose Xeyi (lane six), Phindile Kubeka (lane seven) and Reabetswe Moloi (lane eight).
