CGA celebrates athletes for raising the bar at nationals
CGA celebrates athletes for raising the bar at nationals
The Central Gauteng Athletics (CGA) acting president Karabo Mabilo expressed her gratitude to the athletes who helped the province finish second at the Athletics SA (ASA) senior track and field championships in Potchefstroom from April 24 to 26.
Mabilo praised the athletes for raising the bar after CGA ended the competition with 23 medals – eight gold, eight silver and seven bronze.
'The championships celebrated athletic excellence with CGA athletes across all disciplines, thrilling crowds with their performances,' Mabilo said.
'Congratulations to all CGA athletes, team management, coaches and parents for their contribution in putting CGA out there as one of the best athletics provinces,' she added.
Despite AGN's expected dominance, the CGA contingent displayed exceptional performances on all three days of the competition.
Sprinter Joviale Mbisha took the lead with a victory in the women's 100m on day one. She breasted the tape in 11.48.
ALSO READ: Van Dyk wins three titles at CGA champs
Leendert Koekemoer captured the headlines with his new SA U20 400m record. He clocked 45.03 in the semi-finals to chalk 0.12 seconds off Riaan Dempers' 45.15 set in Secunda in 1994.
In what many called the upset of the championships, Maxime Chaumeton pipped national 5 000m record holder and race favourite, Adriaan Wildschutt, to the men's 5 000m gold.
Chaumeton crossed the line in 13:44.53, with Wildschutt 8.52 seconds off the pace after finishing the race in 13:53.05. CGA's Kabelo Mulaudzi rounded up the podium at 14:01.89.
In the hurdles, Sabelo Dhlamini clinched his first national title when he won the men's 400m hurdles in 48.57, missing the World Athletics Championships qualifying time by fractions of a second.
On the field, Leandri Holtzhausen tossed 66.97m to win the senior women's hammer throw.
Young AGN thrower Aiden Smith beat the Olympian Kyle Blignaut in the men's shotput final. Smith launched his implement to 20.31m, 24cm further than Blignaut's 20.07m throw.
AGN topped the medal standings with 45 medals (17 gold, 14 silver and 14 bronze) and the host province, Athletics Central North West (ACNW), finished joint second with the same number of medals as CGA.
ALSO READ: Local athletes in fine form at CGA league meeting
At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Maverick
4 days ago
- Daily Maverick
Gerda Steyn and Piet Wiersma eye title defences as Comrades Marathon ‘down run' comes into sharp focus
After months of being in the headlines for negative reasons, the Comrades Marathon will shine for what it is all about — testing human endurance. Gerda Steyn and Piet Wiersma are out to defend the titles they won in 2024. More than a century old, the Comrades Marathon is the World Cup of road running. Stacked in history and a multitude of memorable moments that highlight just what humans can achieve with some willpower and preparation, the ultramarathon returns on Sunday, 8 June 2025. As is tradition, the 98th iteration of 'the ultimate human race' will feature runners from all walks of life, from professional runners to recreational runners. This year's edition will be the 'down run' — which will start at the City Hall in Pietermaritzburg and finish in Durban's People's Park. The up run heads in the opposite direction. More than 20,000 participants are expected. Smiling Assassin In the women's field South Africa's own 'Smiling Assassin', Gerda Steyn, is out to crush all competitors as she targets a fourth overall victory in the historic marathon. In addition to her win a year ago, Steyn was also victorious in 2019, then again in 2023 — when she set a new women's record for the down run. Two years ago, Steyn crossed the finish line in 5:44:54. In the process she obliterated Frith van der Merwe's record (which had stood for more than three decades) by an enormous nine minutes. On the back of also winning this year's Two Oceans Marathon Steyn is the overwhelming favourite in the women's race — a tag she is embracing. 'When you come in as a defending champion, it comes with a certain amount of pressure. But I feel like it is the way you process that pressure (which can make or break you),' Steyn said before the race. 'I see pressure as a positive factor. I look at it as if it is nothing other than support and the belief others may have in me,' the 35-year-old added. Though she is the clear frontrunner for Sunday's spectacle, Steyn will be joined on the start line by fellow Olympian Irvette van Zyl. The 37-year-old is poised to make her Comrades debut, something she said had been on her bucket list for some time now. Despite her experience in marathons the Comrades will pose a different challenge for Van Zyl, so there is no guarantee that she will actually challenge Steyn. Competitive pool In the men's pool though, the competition is much tighter. Dutchman Piet Wiersma is the defending champion after his success in the up run a year ago. In 2023 Wiersma finished second behind down run record holder Tete Dijana — trailing by just three seconds. After his disappointing 14th-place finish a year ago, as he struggled with cramps, Dijana is hungry to reclaim his title as king of the Comrades. As well as his record-breaking 5:13:58 run in 2023, North West province's Dijana won the Comrades in 2022. 'I'm going to work hard and try to rectify what happened last year and forget about 2024,' Dijana told Top Runner. 'I don't want to express my targets. You'll just see what's going to happen. I know what I'm going to do.' 'People get jealous when I say I'm going to win. They don't want to hear the word win. I will just close my mouth and open my legs,' the former North West University security guard added. In addition to the forecast tussle between Dijana and Wiersma, 2019 champion Edward Mothibi is also in the mix, as are 2024 Two Oceans champion Onalenna Khonkhobe and last year's Comrades runner-up Dan Moselakwe. The rope runner Rope-running pioneer Marissa Groenewald will also be competing in this year's race as she aims to break the sport's distance record she set a few months go, when she completed the Two Oceans. This year's Comrades will be a total of 89.98km and Groenewald aims to skip the whole way to the finish line. 'The time has finally come. I am excited, overwhelmed and nervous. But more excited. Once you get to the expo and get your race number, it starts sinking in,' Groenewald told Daily Maverick. 'With the nerves and excitement, I am intrigued and interested to see how my body will fare. As much as I have prepared for it and I'm ready to give it my absolute all, I'm to see how I will be feeling when I reach 40km, 60km and then 80km (when I'll have 10 more kilometres to go),' she said. 'A lot of the preparation has gone into my mental state and mental preparation, as much as it's gone towards my body. You can throw anything at your body, as long as you prepare for it and you train hard. It's your mind that you need to conquer,' she added. 'So, that's what I'm looking forward to. Conquering my mind on Sunday and crossing the finish line, with skipping rope in hand. That will be my victory.'
IOL News
4 days ago
- IOL News
Pretoria's Van Zyl ready to tackle Comrades debut despiten nerves and Down Run start
Irvette van Zyl. Photo: Backpagepix Image: Backpagepix Pretoria's favourite runner, Irvette Van Zyl, is excitedly looking forward to her Comrades Marathon debut, even though she would rather have started with the Up Run. Speaking during the elite runners' pre-race conference at a hotel on the Durban beachfront, the Hollywood Athletics Club star was in her usual high spirits, despite being on a table teeming with accomplished gold medallists of The Ultimate Human Race. Among them were her teammate and defending champion Gerda Steyn, former champion Alexandra Morozova, as well as Carlo Molinaro, Caitriona Jennings, Dominika Stelmach and Courtney Olsen – all of whom have previously finished in the top ten. It is not surprising, then, that the Olympian and multiple Soweto Marathon champion had a few butterflies in her stomach as she addressed the media. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ 'Yes, I am nervous,' Van Zyl said, before breaking into her trademark giggle. 'But I am looking forward to it because it's been on my to-do list for a long time. I think it is time now, and hopefully after Sunday I will still have the legs to come back and do the Up Run, because that was the actual plan – to start with the Up Run and not the Down Run. Ja, I am excited, but let's see what happens.' Van Zyl has been training on the race route in preparation for her debut, but she says she does not see that as giving her any more advantage than the others. 'Ja, I've only done one route-tester and I didn't even finish that one, because that day I only managed to do 45km when the plan was to do 52km. But I'm gonna run and finish on Sunday.' That much is expected of her, Van Zyl having proven herself as one of the country's best distance runners over many years. Her multiple victories in the gruelling Soweto Marathon suggest she has what it takes to tackle the 90km monster that is the Comrades. In any case, she has done ultras before – having previously held the world 50km record, and also performing well at the slightly longer 56km Two Oceans Marathon, where she once dipped under the previous record when she finished second to the phenomenal Gerda Steyn. The two are now teammates at Hollywood Athletics Club, who are expected to dominate the women's race, with Steyn once again the favourite to win the title of the KwaZulu-Natal ultra she loves so much.
The Star
30-05-2025
- The Star
Hezekiel Sepeng, Athletics SA, backs Akani Simbine, local talent to medal at World Athletics Championships
Athletics South Africa's Head of Performance, Hezekiel Sepeng, is optimistic about the nation's chances in the upcoming World Athletics Championships and next Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028. The 50-year-old Sepeng, who claimed silver at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics in the men's 800m, said ASA was now working better with its athletes and it was beginning to show on the track. Led by Akani Simbine, the SA men's 4x100m relay team claimed silver at the Paris Olympics last year. That relay team saw the world take notice of the young stars coming up in SA sprinting with Bayanda Walaza, Bradley Nkoana, and Shaun Maswanganyi forming the four-man team. Walaza (19), Nkoana (20), and Maswanganyi (24) will certainly be around for the next Olympics, and Simbine at 31 is still setting the standards of SA sprinting on the global stage in 2025. "The athletes are doing very well. If you go back a few years, if you compare it to now, we're sitting with athletes now that are, come 2028, they will be possible medallists. We are one step ahead of the other countries. But it's only a matter of planning because the main goal here is the September World Champs in Tokyo. But overall, the athletes are doing very well, and I think we are in the right space when it comes to the performance of the athletes," Sepeng told "The relationship between the athletes and the federation is in the right space. We listen to the athletes, and they share their goals with us. We needed to blend together. We need to get to that level where we are definitely confident for medals at the World Champs or the Olympics in 2028.' Simbine has the fastest 100m time in the world this year so far, with his 9.90 seconds he clocked in Gaborone, Botswana, on April 12. The 31-year-old Simbine is also unbeaten in five races now, following his victory in the Diamond League in Rabat on Sunday. His time in Rabat of 9.95 was well ahead of Kenyan Ferdinand Omanyala (10.05) in second and Fred Kerley (10.07) in third. Meanwhile, Walaza, having turned 19 in February, and despite his ungainly running style, he just keeps producing faster times. On Saturday, Walaza clocked 9.94 at the Boris Hankezovic Memorial meeting in Zagreb. It's yet another SA junior record, and he tied the fourth fastest time ever run by a South African. It's also the third fastest time in the world this year. Sepeng said the success of the men's relay team has been inspirational. "If you look at 2016, where we had Caster, Luvo Manyonga and Wayde, they were medallists at the Olympic Games and World Champs. After them, it faded. We introduced the relays because we thought that we could fast-track some of the athletes who cannot make the qualifying standards," said Sepeng. "We thought, let's put them in the relay, they can still go to World Champs in the relays and that kind of motivated them. I think one of the things that really motivated them was the four-by-one relays at the Olympic Games with the two young stars." @Michael_Sherman IOL Sport
