Sasolburg, South Africa – On Friday, 12 April 2019, Sasol and the NWU will host the sixth Sasol-NWU Senior International Athletics meeting at the DP de Villiers Stadium in Sasolburg. Spectators can look forward to a jam packed programme studded by top national senior athletes as well as international participants who have made their mark on the international athletics circuit.

An item not be missed, will be the 400m hurdles in which the world nr 1, Abderrahman Samba from Qatar will be in action. Samba is only the second man in history to run the 400m hurdles under 47 seconds.

The 400m final should deliver fireworks when South African champion Pieter Conradie takes on the former Asian champion, Mohamed Abbas from Qatar. Conradie, finalist in the last 2 year Diamond League finals, has a best time over 400m of 45,15, while Abbas sports a personal best of 45,18 over the distance.

Chederick van Wyk from NWU PUK will be in action in the sprints. This top national sprinter and Varsity Cup winner, has a best time of 10.18 in the 100m. 

Jerry Motsau, South African 5 000m champion in 2018, will be in action in the 3 000m. Motsau holds a bronze medal in the 1 500m from the World Student Games.

Other international athletes to look out for on the night are Christine Botlhogetswe from Botswana who will participate in the 400m. Botlhogetswe sports a personal best of 50,89 and was part of the team that won the bronze medal at the 2018 Common Wealth Games in the 4 x 400m relay for Botswana. Boitumelo Masilo, previous medalist at the African Championship in the 800m, brings a best time of 1:45,87 to the event. Tsepang Sello is another accomplished international athlete. This 800m Olympic women’s athlete from Lesotho has a best time of 2:06,25.

One of the upcoming stars who will be in action in the 3 000m, is Ryan Mphahlele from Tembisa. Mphahlele won the Medi-Help street mile in December 2018 in Cape Town and is the SA Cross Country Champion in the 4km. His best time over 3 000m is 7:53. Jonè Kruger from NWU is another young star who will participate on the night. Her long jump distance of 6.46m earned her the Victrix Ludorum title at the 2019 Varsity Cup.

The Vaal Triangle has over the years become synonym with exceptional hammer throw athletes. This year will not disappoint when Tshepang Makhethe steps into the cage. Makhethe won the last Varsity Cup with a massive 71m throw, having had all his throws at the event over 70m. 
Entry is R20 for adults and R10 for children under 18. There are 200 complimentary tickets available to the first 200 spectators at the gate before 17:00.
        
The event is sponsored by Sasol and partners with the Rejuvenation Community Trust, NWU and the High Performance Centre at NWU to host a successful event.

The full 2019 Sasol-NWU Senior International Athletics meeting programme is: