Ruswahl Samaai
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  South Africa
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place2017 LondonLong jump
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place2014 GlasgowLong jump
Bronze medal – third place2018 Gold CoastLong jump
African Championships
Bronze medal – third place2014 MarrakechLong Jump
Gold medal – first place2016 DurbanLong Jump
Gold medal – first place2018 AsabaLong Jump
Representing Africa
Continental Cup
Gold medal – first place2018 OstravaLong Jump

Ruswahl Samaai (born 25 September 1991)[1] 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 and the 2018 Commonwealth Games. In 2017 he won the bronze medal in the long jump event at the World Championships held in London.[2]

Career

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.[4]

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).[5] 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.[6]

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.[7] At the South African Championships, he came in second place behind Zarck Visser with a near-eight-metre jump.[8] 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.[6] 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.[1][9]

Personal life

Samaai married long-term girlfriend Alecha Thops on the 3rd of October 2021.

Personal bests

  • Long jump – 8.49 m (27 ft 10+1⁄4 in) (2017)
  • Triple jump – 16.10 m (52 ft 9+3⁄4 in) (2014)

International competition record

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
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
African Championships Durban, South Africa 1st Long jump 8.40 m (w)
Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 9th Long jump 7.97 m
2017 World Championships London, United Kingdom 3rd Long jump 8.32 m
2018 World Indoor Championships Birmingham, United Kingdom 6th Long jump 8.05 m
Commonwealth Games Gold Coast, Australia 3rd Long jump 8.22 m
African Championships Asaba, Nigeria 1st Long jump 8.45 m
2018 IAAF Continental Cup Ostrava, Czech Republic 1st Long jump 8.16 m
2019 World Championships Doha, Qatar 5th Long jump 8.23 m
2021 Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 22nd (q) Long jump 7.74 m
2022 World Championships Eugene, United States 15th (q) Long jump 7.86 m

References

  1. 1 2 Rushwahl Samaai. Glasgow2014. Retrieved on 2014-08-02.
  2. ↑ "Long Jump Men − Final − Results" (PDF). IAAF. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  3. ↑ Samaai set to soar higher. Varsity Sports (2014-04-09). Retrieved on 2014-08-02.
  4. ↑ Profile: Ruswahl Samaai. Varsity Sports. Retrieved on 2014-08-02.
  5. ↑ Mokoena leads the way, Pistorius falls short. Supersport (2011-04-09). Retrieved on 2014-08-02.
  6. 1 2 Rushwal Samaai at Tilastopaja (registration required)
  7. ↑ Long Jump - men - senior - outdoor - 2014. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-08-02.
  8. ↑ de Villiers, Ockert (2014-04-11). Jumper Visser shows superb form. IOL Sport. Retrieved on 2014-08-02.
  9. ↑ 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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