ANATHI WULUSHE
Athletes from different parts of SA participated in the SA Schools Athletics Primary and High Schools Cross Country Championships at Walter Sisulu University (Potsdam Campus) at the weekend.
The event, which was held for the first time in the Buffalo City Metro region, saw 972 mainstream athletes and 540 pupils with special educational needs (LSEN) in the 12-19 age group compete for top honours, running distances of 2km to 8km.
Gauteng and Eastern Cape were the top performers in the racing event.
Gauteng took home 21 medals, with its athletes winning eight golds, seven silvers and six bronze medals while the Eastern Cape’s competitors clinched six golds, four silvers and six bronze, bringing its overall total to 16.
Among Gauteng’s top performers was Pretoria High pupil Amogelang Tshabalala.
She ran a time of 21:38.10 in the Under-18 6km category, beating fellow Gauteng teammates Matebane Tokelo and Gumede Ntokozo, who finished second and third respectively.
Having started cross-county racing in 2018, Shabalala described her win in the nationals as the pinnacle achievement of her career as a cross-country athlete.
“I feel so proud of myself for being an SA champion,” she said.
“I was so relieved at the end of the race to have managed to cross over in first place, it was a tough race because I was not used to competing with other provinces,
“I had to improve my time to win the race, though I was so tired halfway. The condition and fitness training we have been working on through the year with my coaches finally paid off,” she said.
Tshabalala also finished first in the Gauteng Cross Country Championships in May.
Free State’s Tshidiso Moloke was first in the Under-18 boys 8km race, with the 17-year-old running a time of 24:42.90 to edge out North West’s Oarabile Keitseng (24:45.50).
Earlier in the day, in the Under-18 8km LSEN boys’ event, the Western Cape’s Bron Henry ran 25:21.10 to clinch first, place beating Gauteng’s Andile Mdlalose, who ran a time of 25:25.80.
In the Under-18 4km LSEN girls’ race, Gauteng’s Nthabiseng Masha clocked a time of 16:48.90 to win.
She beat the Western Cape’s Nikita Mohammed and Mpumalanga’s Keeana Botha.
Eastern Cape Athletics general secretary Nomonde Matrosi said the event was a success.
“The championship went well. We are happy that SA Schools Athletes chose us to host the event because the frustration of our learners not participating in sporting activities due to Covid-19 regulations was channelled through drugs and alcohol abuse.
“We want to thank Walter Sisulu University, who accepted our request and helped us with their ground because we had a huge challenge with our facilities being vandalised,” she said.
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