Athletics highs and lows

Caster Semenya scored Team SAs only Olympic Games track medal with her second-place nish in the womens 800m with a season best 1:57.23. In April, the 21-year-old chalked up her rst sub-two minute time on home soil with a quick 1:59.58 during the Yellow Pages III nal in Pretoria. At the same event, SA junior international Monique Stander came second in 2:02.57 to breach the 2:02.71 set by Corne Viljoen in 1987 Anaso Jobodwana emerges at the London Olympics as SA's newest sprinting sensation after he reached the 200m nal having come second to Usain Bolt in the seminals. Khotso Mokoena (long jump), Sunette Viljoen (javelin), Andre Olivier Paralympian Oscar Blade Runner Pistorius becomes the rst amputee to compete at the Olympic Games in London

(800m) and Lehann Fourie (110m hurdles) also reached the nals in their respective events

Former New York Marathon winner and four-time SA Olympian Hendrick Ramaala is elected vice-president of ASA during the June polls. James Evans was also reinstated as president, the rst time that the ASA leadership will hold office for a full four-year term since the disbandment of Leonard Chuenes board in 2009.

ASA Chief executive Frik Vermaak is charged with alleged misappropriation of funds and was suspended just seven months into the job

After almost ve years as the main bankroller of the domestic track-and-eld events, the Yellow Pages sponsorship is not renewed

Simon Magakwe is omitted from the SA Olympic athletics team despite recording the qualifying A-standard six times in the 100m and twice in the 200m. Rising star Wenda Theron (400m hurdles) is also left out

Team SAs track and eld team fails to reclaim the No.1 continental spot they relinquished in 2006 by nishing third at the African Championships hosted by Benin. This despite winning a total of 24 medals in Porto Novo - three more than top-ranked Nigeria, which hauled 10 gold medals to SAs six

A total of 12 athletes tested positive to banned substances, this includes the ongoing high-prole case of Comrades Marathon winner Ludwick Mamabolo and former world junior long jumper Luvo Manyonga

SA senior track and eld records in 2012

February 25 Triple jumper Charlene Potgieters distance of 13.61m ended Charmain Barnards April 1992 record of 13.46m March 24 Patience Ntshingila sets the newest SA triple jump record with a jump of 13.89m April 13 and 14 Willem Coertzen breaks his own record, improves from 8 146 points in August 2009 to 8 244 in the decathlon April 27 Simon Magakwe equals Johannes Rossouws 24-year-old SA record of 10.06 in the 100m May 12 Marc Mundell improves his 50km walk personal best from 4:04.54 to 3:57.57 June 9 Sunette Viljoen throws 69.35m in New York to set a new SA and African javelin record, beating her previous distance of 68.38m

DANIEL MOTHOWAGAE, RUDI LOUW, Graphics24