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Bronze medals for Team SA
Bronze medals for Team SA mountain biking, lawn bowls give country more reasons to celebrate
IT was celebration time again for Team South Africa when they secured two more bronze medals at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Candice Lill finished third in the women’s mountain bike cross-country event, while the lawn bowls para women’s pairs B6-B8 duo of Victoria van der Merwe and Desiree Levin also reached the podium to take SA’s medal haul to 18 (six gold, five silver and seven bronze).
Lill competed in the London Olympics, and 10 years later at the Cannock Chase Forest in Staffordshire, she tasted glory in the gruelling 34km race. The 30-year-old from Port Shepstone was in fourth position after the opening 10km, but moved up to second at the 22km mark. Lill, though, was passed by Australian Zoe Cuthbert with about 4km to go, and settled for third and bronze in a time of 1hr 36min 12sec. England’s Evie Richards charged to the gold medal in 1:34:59, with Cuthbert taking the silver with 1:35:46.
Later in the afternoon, Van der Merwe and Levin beat England’s Michelle White and Gillian Platt 16-7 in the lawn bowls para women’s pairs B6B8 bronze-medal match at Victoria Park. The SA pair were 7-2 up after End 4, and moved ahead to a 12-3 advantage following End 9.
Lawn bowls para women’s duo, Victoria van der Merwe and Desiree Levin
Candice Lill finished third in the women’s mountain bike cross-country event,
