Chaumeton and Uys break national records

It was a record-breaking week for South African athletes, with national marks falling at home and abroad.

On Saturday, distance runner Maxime Chaumeton broke his own SA 5km record on the road in Lille, France. Competing at the Urban Trail race, Chaumeton finished fifth in 13:06, chopping six seconds off his own record (13:12) which he had set in Seville, Spain, in February.

Up front, French athlete Jimmy Gressier won the race in 12:51, finishing just two seconds outside the world record of 12:49 held by Ethiopia's Berihu Aregawi.

UYS REIGNS

Earlier in the week, Colette Uys also flaunted her record-breaking form at the ACNW Championships held in Potchefstroom on Wednesday.

Uys, a former African Championships and World Student Games medallist in the shot put, launched a 69.21m heave in the women's hammer throw competition.

In a hard-fought contest, she held off a challenge from former national record holder Leandri Holtzhausen who took second place with a 68.18m throw.

Uys added 55 centimetres to the SA hammer throw mark of 68.66m which was set by Phethisang Makhethe in Eugene, Oregon, in May last year.

In the process, she shattered her personal best of 65.84m, which she had achieved in Potchefstroom last season, by more than three metres.