Pretoria- Thousands of Bok fans are making their way to Sandton at theNelson Mandela Squareand alongWest Streetto say farewell to the national rugby team as they leave forNew Zealandlater this evening.?
The event is being organized by the South African Rugby Union (SARU), Lead SA, the Department of Sport and Recreation, Supersport, Absa and Brand SA.?
?It?s all systems go for the big send-off. All logistics are in place and we are ready,? said Lead SA?s Yusuf Abramjee.?
?We appeal to the public to arrive in their thousands to make the Fans? Farewell a memorable one,? he said.?
Abramjee earlier met SARU deputy president, Mark Alexander, SARU CEO Jurie Roux, Springbok Captain John Smit, deputy captain Victor Matfield and Absa?s Happy Ntshingila to discuss the final plans for the event.?
?Everyone is excited and we looking forward to a great send-off. The captain and his players are all waiting to wave goodbye to Springbok fans.?
?The response from the public has been fantastic. We thank South Africans for all their support and we hope to see them in large numbers in Sandton and at the Waterfront inCape Town,? said Alexander.?
SARU President, Oregan Hoskins, earlier also asked the public to support the Springbok Fans? Farwell.?
?Let?s give our boys a heroes? send-off [today]. Let?s unite and get the entire nation behind the Springboks. Sport unifies us,? Sport and Recreation Minister Fikile Mbalula said.?
Mbalula said it was ?important forSouth Africato be 100% behind the Boks.??
Mbalula, SARU officials, the captain and representatives from Lead SA and Absa are expected to address the crowds this evening.?
Gates in Sandton are to be opened at midday. No tickets are required for entry intoWest Street.?
About 1 800 tickets have already been issued for entry intoNelson Mandela Square.?
The programme, which includes live entertainment, starts at 3.30pm atNelson Mandela Squareand it will be shown live on big screens alongWest Street. There is capacity for 50 000 people and fans have been asked to arrive early to ensure they get good spots.?
Various groups, including the Graeme Watkins Project, Axene, Freshlyground, Danny K and Lavuvuzela will perform. The singing of Shosholoza will also feature.?
The Springboks will arrive shortly before 5pm. About an hour later, they will walk to the Sandton Gautrain Station and greet crowds along the way. They fly out fromORTInternationalAirporttoNew Zealandlater in the evening.?
The team will be accompanied to the airport by a group of 40 children from a school in Alexandra.?
There will be a flypass by two Oryx helicopters from the SA Air Force displaying the South African flag and a Springboks flag shortly after 5pm. Four Harvard aircraft will also do a flypass.?
The public has been encouraged to use public transport into Sandton. The Gautrain is a convenient way of getting to the Fans? Farwell from the airport, Rosebank, Midrand andPretoria. Parking in the Sandton area is limited.?
West Streetwill be closed for most of the day betweenMaude StreetandRivonia Road. Should the crowds increase, adjoining streets may be closed to traffic.?
?We have contingency plans in place,? said Saru marketing manager, Sarah Mundy. ?The police and metro police will also be out in full force.??
Brand SA and the Department of Arts and Culture will be distributing thousands of South African flags, and have asked fans to ?wave the flags high.??
Lead SA has asked the nation to wear the green and gold T-shirts.?
Lead SA has repeatedly called on South Africans to support the national team. ?Stand up, do the right thing and make a difference.??
Supersport will start its live broadcast from 4.30pm. Etv and the SABC will also do regular crossings to the Fans? Farewell. Various radio stations, including Talk Radio 702 and 94.7 Highveld Stereo, will broadcast fromNelson Mandela Square.?
TheCape Townevent will also be live on 567CapeTalk and 94.5 Kfm. The proceedings in Sandton will be shown live on big screens but a special local programme has also been lined up. ? BuaNews?
Van Zyl bags bronze??
National 400m hurdles record holder LJ van Zyl securedSouth Africa?s first medal, bagging bronze at the World Athletics Championships inDaegu,South Korea, on Thursday.?
Van Zyl, starting the final in lane eight after a poor qualifying time, was well placed off the top bend, but struggled over the last 40 metres.?
American AngeloTaylor, however, tied up over the last hurdle and Van Zyl sneaked home in third in 48.80 seconds.?
David Greene ofGreat Britainwon gold in 48.26, with Javier Culson of theUnited Statestaking second in 48.44.?
Former South African champion Cornel Fredericks, 21, finished strongly to place fifth in 49.12.?
?I didn?t have a major medal yet. It?s my fourth world champs and now I have a bronze. I worked hard for it,? Van Zyl said.?
?It?s very difficult running blind in lane eight and when Culson and Greene moved up to me I lost a little bit of concentration and clipped hurdle nine, but I came back strong.??
Ruben Ramolefi trailed home in a disappointing 13th position in the men?s 3 000m steeplechase final.?
Ramolefi started well, taking up the early pace, but dropped off the lead group midway through the race to finish in 8:30.47 ? more than 19 seconds slower than the national record he set in the heats earlier in the week.?
Oscar Pistorius and Caster Semenya had earlier stolen the show in the morning session as the SA team produced superb performances in qualifying rounds.?
Double amputee Pistorius, who reached the semifinals of the men?s 400m sprint earlier in the week, formed part of the quartet that set a national record in the men?s 4X400m relay heats.?
Pistorius joined Ofentse Mogawane, Willem de Beer and Shane Victor as they finished third in their heat behind favourites theUnited StatesandJamaica.?
The SA quartet clocked 2:59.21 to break the 12-year-old national best, set at the 1999 global championships in Seville, Spain, by 0.99 seconds.?
?I?m very happy with my leg and I hope the team is happy with it as well,? Pistorius said.?
?Today, that was the best I could give, and thanks to God we did well.?
?The record is an additional bonus.??
South Africa, the third fastest of the qualifiers, will line up in lane eight in Friday afternoon?s final.?
Semenya, meanwhile, cruised through the first round of the women?s 800m, finishing second in her heat, although she was credited with the same time as Russian winner Mariya Savinova, clocking 2:01.01.?
Semenya, the defending champion, did not want to speak to the media, but told a South African journalist in Sepedi that she was pleased with her performance ahead of Friday?s semifinals.?
?It was not a big deal, and I don?t walk to talk,? Semenya said.?
?It went fine and I?m happy. It wasn?t a big deal, I?m just doing one race at a time.??
African record holder Sunette Viljoen qualified easily, heaving the best throw in her group by reaching 65.34m with her first effort to progress automatically in the opening round of the women?s javelin throw.?
Former continental record holder Justine Robbeson was eliminated, finishing 10th in her qualifying group with a best of 58.08m.?
Khotso Mokoena, who picked up the silver medal inBerlintwo years ago, was elmininated in the qualifying round of the men?s long jump.?
The pretender to his throne, however, sneaked through, with world junior champion Luvo Manyonga finishing fifth in his heat with a best of 8.04m.?
Mokoena was ninth in the tougher of two groups, leaping 8.00m with his third attempt to miss qualification by only two centimetres.?
Manyonga will compete in the final on Friday afternoon.?
Robert Oosthuizen was eliminated in the qualifying round of the men?s javelin throw, with a best heave of 73.14m to finish a lowly 16th in his group.?
Elroy Gelant placed 10th in the heats of the men?s 5 000m, clocking 13:48.33 and finishing almost eight seconds behind the slowest qualifier.?
Oscar, Semenya shine in morning session?
Oscar Pistorius and Caster Semenya stole the show on Thursday morning as the South African athletics team produced superb performances in qualifying rounds at the World Athletics Championships inDaegu,South Korea.?
Double amputee Pistorius, who reached the semifinals of the men?s 400m sprint earlier in the week, formed part of the quartet that set a national record in the men?s 4X400m relay heats.?
Pistorius joined Ofentse Mogawane, Willem de Beer and Shane Victor as the quartet finished third in their heat behind favourites theUnited StatesandJamaica.?
The SA team clocked 2:59.21 to break the 12-year-old national record, set at the 1999 global championships inSeville,Spain, by 0.99 seconds.?
?I?m very happy with my leg and I hope the team is happy with it as well,? Pistorius said.?
?Today, that was the best I could give, and thanks to God we did well.?
?The record is an additional bonus.??
South Africa, the third fastest of the qualifiers, will line up in lane eight in Friday afternoon?s final.?
Caster Semenya, meanwhile, cruised through the first round of the women?s 800m, finishing second in her heat, although she was credited with the same time as Russian winner Mariya Savinova, clocking 2:01.01.
Semenya, the defending champion, did not want to speak to the media, but told a South African journalist in Sepedi that she was pleased with her performance ahead of Friday?s semifinals.?
?It was not a big deal, and I don?t walk to talk,? Semenya said.?
?It went fine and I?m happy. It wasn?t a big deal, I?m just doing one race at a time.??
African record holder Sunette Viljoen qualified easily, heaving the best throw in her group by reaching 65.34m with her first effort to progress automatically in the opening round of the women?s javelin throw.?
Former continental record holder Justine Robbeson was eliminated, finishing 10th in her qualifying group with a best of 58.08m.?
Khotso Mokoena, who picked up the silver medal inBerlintwo years ago, was elmininated in the qualifying round of the men?s long jump.?
The pretender to his throne, however, sneaked through, with world junior champion Luvo Manyonga finishing fifth in his heat with a best of 8.04m.?
Mokoena was ninth in the tougher of two groups, leaping 8.00m with his third attempt to miss qualification by only two centimetres.?
?It was not my day. I struggled to get my run up correct,? Mokoena said.
??The track is very fast and nothing went right for me today.??
Manyonga, 20, said he was upset that Mokoena, the national record holder, had been knocked out.?
?I?m so angry about that. I was looking forward to both of us jumping in the final,? Manyonga said.?
?Now it?s only me, but I will do the best for the SA team.??
Manyonga will compete in the final on Friday afternoon.?
Elroy Gelant placed 10th in the heats of the men?s 5 000m, clocking 13:48.33 and finishing almost eight seconds behind the slowest qualifier.?
South Africawill aim to secure their first medal on Thursday afternoon, with LJ van Zyl, the fastest in the world this year, and Cornel Fredericks lining up in the final of the men?s 400m hurdles.?
Ruben Ramolefi, who improved his national record in the heats, will look to go even faster in the men?s 3 000m steeplechase final.?
Robert Oosthuizen competes in the qualifying round of the men?s javelin throw.
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Source: http://www.thegremlin.co.za/2011/09/02/sports-news-19/
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