Saffer Reacts

South African with a mixed interest - some sport, some local politics, some international politics and anything else that catches my attention

#FreePalestine

[MJdowntheshore @MJdowntheshore]

Big pussy got grabbed by a strong woman.

[Saffer Reacts @Perfin_Intl]

@Sofia50020Sofia https://t.co/MTJibtlI0l

[Saffer Reacts @Perfin_Intl]

@Rainmaker1973 1. Africa is not a country
2. Madagascar, Ethiopia and Nigeria are African countries

[Saffer Reacts @Perfin_Intl]

Take a look at South African swimmer Karen Muir. In the 1960s, from age 12 through to 18, she broke the women's world record for backstroke 15 times in the 110yds, 100m, 220 yds and 200m. She retired at age 18, studied medicine and became a doctor

[Archaeo - Histories @archeohistories]

Imagine being 16 years old and walking into the Olympic Games—not as a spectator, not as a hopeful future athlete, but as one of the competitors.

That was the reality for Gunhild Maria Larking in 1952...

Born in Jönköping, Sweden, in 1936, Gunhild was still a teenager when she stepped onto the Olympic stage in Helsinki. At an age when most girls were worrying about school exams and their future plans, she was preparing to face some of the world's best high jumpers.

She finished ninth in the Olympics, a respectable achievement in itself. But what happened next is what makes her story so remarkable.

Many athletes have one great season. Some manage two. Gunhild turned excellence into a habit.

The same year she competed in the Olympics, she won the Swedish national championship in the high jump. Then she came back and won it again the following year. And the year after that. And the year after that. And then once more.

Five consecutive national titles.

For half a decade, from 1952 through 1956, she remained the woman to beat in Swedish high jumping. Every season brought fresh competitors and new talent, yet Gunhild kept clearing the bar higher than everyone else.

It is easy to look at sporting history and focus only on gold medals and world records. Those achievements deserve recognition. But there is another kind of accomplishment that often slips quietly into the background: sustained excellence.

Gunhild Larking may not be a household name today, yet she achieved something extraordinary. As a teenager, she earned a place among the world's elite athletes, then spent years proving that her success was no accident.

Her story reminds us that history is filled with women whose accomplishments were impressive enough to make national headlines in their own time, yet whose names have gradually faded from public memory.

Perhaps the greatest surprise is not what Gunhild achieved, but how few people remember it today.

© Women In World History

#archaeohistories

[Saffer Reacts @Perfin_Intl]

@Infostrixx Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone?
At 26 she holds the WR for the 400m hurdles and the US record for the flat 400m (2nd best all time). 4x Olympic Gold and 5x World Champ. Holds all 400mH age records from age 14 to 19

[Saffer Reacts @Perfin_Intl]

Gabby Thomas on form with a SB in the 200m

[World Athletics @WorldAthletics]

TAKING IT BACK 🔥

🇺🇸 Olympic champ, Gabby Thomas clocks 21.70 in the women’s 200m at the USATF Lone Star Grand Prix to reclaim the world lead!

Tune into the livestream now 👉 https://t.co/c4LO4F0ycy

#ContinentalTourGold

[Saffer Reacts @Perfin_Intl]

Congrats @Blitzboks ! Proud of you guys

[Springbok Sevens @Blitzboks]

Philip Snyman: “I am so very, very proud on this team, and to win both the World Series and the World Championship is a special feat” - more here: https://t.co/8dZVlH3YxV 🤩
#Blitzboks #PoweredByUnity #HSBCSVNS

[Saffer Reacts @Perfin_Intl]

To put Audrey Werro's 800m in perspective

[World Athletics @WorldAthletics]

HISTORY IN THE 800M 🌟

🇨🇭’s Audrey Werro flies to a national and diamond league record of 1:53.98 at @BAUHAUSGALAN to become only the third woman in history under 1:54, moving to third on the all-time list 🔥

🇬🇧’s world indoor record holder Keely Hodgkinson also delivers with 1:54.33, the fastest ever non-winning time 👀

#DiamondLeague

[Saffer Reacts @Perfin_Intl]

Probably because most South Africans can't afford DStv

[Africa First @AfricaFirsts]

Did you know? Most South Africans 🇿🇦 prefer the Premier Soccer League (PSL) to the EPL (English Premier League)

[Saffer Reacts @Perfin_Intl]

WOW! Audrey Werro had a strong win in Rabat recently but this was next level with Keely Hodgkinson finishing second with a NR

[MR.CARTER 🌚 @NelsonCarterJr]

🚨 HALLUCINANT, LA FOLIE !!!!!!

Audrey Werro 🇨🇭 choque tout le monde en remportant le 800m de #StockholmDL en 1:53.98 DLR MR WL NR devant la championne olympique Keely Hodgkinson 🇬🇧 1:54.33 NR et Roisin Willis 🇺🇸 1:57.56 PB

DINGUE 🤯😱
#Athlétisme

[Saffer Reacts @Perfin_Intl]

Mondo Duplantis failed to clear 6m and suffered his first loss in three years. Congrats on your upcoming wedding @mondohoss600

[AW @AthleticsWeekly]

"I'm honestly surprised in how happy the kids are as I feel they're the people I really let down."

Mondo Duplantis is philosophical after failing to win his first pole vault competition in three years 💎

The world record-holder was still inundated with attention from the next generation in Stockholm 🇸🇪

🎙️ @euancrumley

[Saffer Reacts @Perfin_Intl]

Great win for Zakithi Nene running blind in the outside lane

[Trackside & Tactics @TrackTacticsHQ]

🇿🇦Zakithi Nene – 44.48s
🇺🇸 Jacory Patterson – 44.69s
🇹🇹Jereem Richards – 44.87s

Zakithi runs the fastest 400m time ever recorded at the Stockholm Diamond League

[Saffer Reacts @Perfin_Intl]

@ElenaBee0 Take your pick
Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, Utah

[Saffer Reacts @Perfin_Intl]

My first attempt at a New York cheesecake just out of the oven

[Saffer Reacts @Perfin_Intl]

Phenomenal performance by Maja Chwalinska, the first qualifier to reach the French Open final 👏

[Tennis Channel @TennisChannel]

Maja Chwalinska to Mirra Andreeva: “You’re so young and talented. It’s so annoying.” 😂

A big congrats to the qualifier for a spectacular run to the final 🌟🇵🇱

#RolandGarros

[Saffer Reacts @Perfin_Intl]

Interesting bit of SA history

[History ZAR @HistorySAZAR]

The first Africans to compete in the Olympic Games were two South Africans, Jan Mashiane and Len Taunyane, who competed in the Marathon at the 1904 St. Louis Olympics. Their participation in the infamous 1904 St. Louis Olympic Marathon is one of the most fascinating and bizarre chapters in sports history. Neither man traveled to the United States as an official Olympic athlete. They were in Missouri as part of the Boer War Spectacle at the World's Fair, which ran concurrently with the Games. They had previously served as dispatch runners during the Anglo-Boer War. They decided to enter the marathon on a whim just before the race began. Because officials struggled with their surnames, they were listed on the program as "LenTau" and "Yamasani". Taunyane was actually on pace for a much higher finish but was chased nearly a mile off-course by a pack of aggressive, wild dogs. Despite the canine detour and brutal conditions that caused 18 out of 32 runners to drop out, both South Africans finished the race. Taunyane finished 9th and Mashiane finished 12th. Source: Olympics, Missouri History Museum, African Global News.

[Saffer Reacts @Perfin_Intl]

Mondo Duplantis new 6.30m pole vault world record, clearing the pole length by more than a meter. Wow!

#duplantis #polevault #worldrecord

[Love Music @khnh80044]

Absolutely unbelievable . The man truly is a legend 👏👏👏

[Saffer Reacts @Perfin_Intl]

Wow. Massive damage to Michells Pass, blocking the route to Ceres

[Pro Jileka @MVProJileka]

What happened at Mitchell's Pass, Ceres in the Western Cape is catastrophic. Nature has it's own rules... 💔 #CapeStorm

[Saffer Reacts @Perfin_Intl]

Great!

[Wandile Sihlobo @WandileSihlobo]

SOUTH AFRICA IS NOW THE WORLD’S LEADING CITRUS EXPORTER.

South Africa has overtaken Spain and is now the world's leading exporter by volume.

Citrus is the leading agricultural export product, accounting for 17% of South Africa’s agricultural exports of US$15.1 billion in 2025.

[Saffer Reacts @Perfin_Intl]

@BoknRoll N1 North still closed apparently