Cronje breaks Fourie's SA mile record

JOHAN Cronje broke Johan Fourie's 27-year-old SA mile record when he clocked 3min 50.70sec in the US on Saturday.

Cronje, the 1500m world championship medallist from Moscow last year, was competing in the Bowerman Mile – a few strides longer than 1600m – at the Eugene leg of the Diamond League.

It was a star-studded field; nine of the 16 entrants boasted silverware from the Olympics, world champs and world indoors, while another three had medals from African and European championships.

Cronje was more than three seconds off the pace, finishing ninth in a lightning race where 10 of the 14 finishers clocked national records or personal bests.

"The guys were flying today," Cronje tweeted afterwards. "At least I managed to sneak in a [national] record ... at the back."

Ayanleh Souleiman, the reigning world indoor 1500m champion, won in a Diamond League and Djibouti record of 3:47.32.

Fourie, one of SA's stars of the 1980s when local runners were barred from international competition because of apartheid, set the previous national mile record in Port Elizabeth in March 1987.

In the 100m, Simon Magakwe finished last in 10.13sec, while the top five all dipped below the 9.98 SA mark he posted in Pretoria in mid-April.

American Justin Gatlin won in a new world lead of 9.76sec ahead of compatriot Michael Rodgers in 9.80.

That means Magakwe, who went into the race fourth on the world list, has slipped to seventh.

Magakwe and Cronje will both race again at the next Diamond League meet in Rome on Thursday. - David Isaacson