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Ruswahl Samaai

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Ruswahl Samaai
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  South Africa
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Glasgow Long jump
African Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Marrakech Long Jump

Rushwahl Samaai (also Rushwal or Ruswahl;[1] born 25 September 1991)[2] is a South African track and field athlete who competes in the long jump. He was the bronze medallist in the event at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Samaai grew up in a poor neighbourhood of Paarl, living in a shack with his mother. He was driven to compete in athletics and would regularly walk nearly ten kilometres to the local running track to train.[3] He attended Paarl Gimnasium and went on to study transport management at the University of Johannesburg.[1]

He made his first impact on the national scene as a 19-year-old at the 2011 South African Championships. He placed third, behind Godfrey Khotso Mokoena and Luvo Manyonga, and set a personal best of 7.75 m (25 ft 5 in).[4] He improved in 2012 winning the national under-23 championships in a best of 7.94 m (26 ft 1⁄2 in) before repeating his third place at the senior championships. He was runner-up at the University Championships and also came fourth in the triple jump with a mark of 15.79 m (51 ft 9+1⁄2 in). He repeated as universities runner-up in 2013 and added two further centimetres to his best.[5]

Samaai began 2014 with an early world-leading performance of 8.10 m (26 ft 6+3⁄4 in) – a new personal best and his first leap over eight metres. He cleared 8.13 m (26 ft 8 in) in March, placing second to Irving Saladino in the world rankings.[6] At the South African Championships he came in second place behind Zarck Visser with a near-eight-metre jump.[7] Samaai began competing on the international track and field circuit that year. He had his first podium finish on the Diamond League circuit shortly after, placing third at the Adidas Grand Prix. After that, he was second at the Folksam Grand Prix in Sweden and won at the Meeting Sport Solidarieta in Italy.[5] Samaai was selected to represent South Africa at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and on his international debut he cleared 8.08 m (26 ft 6 in) in the long jump final to earn the bronze medal.[2][8]

Personal bests

  • Long jump – 8.38 m (27 ft 5+3⁄4 in) (2015)
  • Triple jump – 16.10 m (52 ft 9+3⁄4 in) (2014)

International competition record

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
2014 Commonwealth Games Glasgow, United Kingdom 3rd Long jump 8.08 m
African Championships Marrakech, Morocco 3rd Long jump 7.84 m (w)
2015 World Championships Beijing, China 20th (q) Long jump 7.79 m
2016 World Indoor Championships Portland, United States 5th Long jump 8.18 m

References

  1. ^ a b Profile: Ruswahl Samaai. Varsity Sports. Retrieved on 2014-08-02.
  2. ^ a b Rushwahl Samaai. Glasgow2014. Retrieved on 2014-08-02.
  3. ^ Samaai set to soar higher. Varsity Sports (2014-04-09). Retrieved on 2014-08-02.
  4. ^ Mokoena leads the way, Pistorius falls short. Supersport (2011-04-09). Retrieved on 2014-08-02.
  5. ^ a b Rushwal Samaai at Tilastopaja (registration required)
  6. ^ Long Jump - men - senior - outdoor - 2014. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-08-02.
  7. ^ de Villiers, Ockert (2014-04-11). Jumper Visser shows superb form. IOL Sport. Retrieved on 2014-08-02.
  8. ^ Broadbent, Chris (2014-07-30). James, Adams and Rutherford add Commonwealth gold to Olympic titles. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-08-02.


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