Lehann Fourie finished seventh in the men’s 60m hurdles final to close out South Africa’s campaign at the World Indoor Athletics Championships in Istanbul, Turkey, on Sunday.
Fourie, 25, clocked 7.69 seconds to trail gold medallist Aries Merritt of the United States by 0.25 seconds.
The South African had earlier got off to a superb start in the semifinals, clocking 7.65 to book his place in the final.
He fell only 0.01 seconds short of his personal best in the penultimate round.
Elroy Gelant, meanwhile, struggled against a quality field but set a new SA indoor record in the men’s 3 000m final.
Gelant settled near the back of the pack from the start, and while he faded over the last few laps, finishing last, he crossed the line in a national best time of 7:48.64.
American Bernard Lagat defended his title, breaking clear on the final lap to win in 7:41.44.
The only other athlete inSouth Africa’s three-man team, Burger Lambrechts, bombed out in the qualifying round of the men’s shot put on Friday.
