Van Zyl to buy more cows with jackpot

South African 400m hurdles record holder LJ van Zyl says he will  use his prize money from the domestic athletics season to buy cattle for his family.

  Van Zyl, the leading one-lap hurdler in the world this year, received a R200 000 cheque from sponsors Yellow Pages on Wednesday for setting a national record of 47.66 seconds in Pretoria in February.

   “I plan on using the money to pay off my home bond and to buy some cows for my father’s farm in Malteno [in the Eastern Cape],” Van Zyl said.

   The 25-year-old, who has run the five fastest times in the world this year, said he hoped to continue his superb form in the Diamond  League series in his event.

   Van Zyl comfortably leads the 400m hurdles Diamond race by four points from Portugal’s Javier Culson of Puerto Rico after winning the first two meetings in Doha and Rome.

   “I am pleased with my form and will be returning to Europe in search of more fast times when I compete at the Diamond League meetings in Lausanne, Switzerland [June 30] and Birmingham, England  [July 10],” he said.