Gold Coast - South Africa’s Phil-Mar van Rensburg did what he needed to do to qualify for Saturday’s men’s javelin final at the Commonwealth Games.

Automatic qualification was 78.00 metres and the big man from Tzaneen did exactly that, right down to the last centimetre, the Team SA website reports.

He advanced into the 12-man final with the seventh best distance as Australia’s Hamish Peacock led the way with a throw of 81.22m.

There’s definitely a South African connection to this event.

Former world champion Marius Corbett still holds the Games record with the 88.75m he threw in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 20 years ago.

“All I wanted to do was qualify,” said the 28-year-old Van Rensburg. “I felt nice and solid, job done. The final is going to be great and this crowd is electric.”

What will it take to medal: “Definitely an 81+ but the conditions will be right for big throws. There are a few big names here so I’ll have to produce.”

Saturday’s final is 06:35 (SA time).