Sinesipho Dambile dedicates national title to late father

Dambile clocked an impressive 20.11 seconds to win gold and dip under the 20.16 World Athletics qualifying standards in one of the fastest 200m finals in the event’s history, with both silver medalist Naeem Jack (20.13) and Abdurahman Richardson (20.15) also qualifying for the world stage.

An emotional Dambile reflected on the sacrifice he made on Saturday morning to keep chasing his dream.

"I am good now, I did manage, obviously I wasn't feeling 100% with everything that was happening at home but I had a conversation with them earlier. I just wanted to make sure that they watch my race and I made sure that I won it. I'm confident that at home they are definitely happy," Dambile said.

The 23-year-old told SABC Sport that his family had given him their blessing to miss the funeral and pursue his dream on Saturday.

They watched the race live on television as he delivered a second automatic qualifying time, dedicating his performance as a heartfelt tribute.

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"I had a conversation with all of them, cousins, my little brother and I didn't wanna complicate things. I just kept it simple, like you know what, I'm gonna do this and make sure that my mind is clear, I'm happy and that's what I did today."