Van Dyk ends year with double gold at nationals
She has won four national titles this year.
There were no wild celebrations when Chelsea van Dyk crossed the line to win the U13 girls’ 1 500m national title at the Athletics SA (ASA) Age-Group Track and Field Championships in Bloemfontein on December 7.
Instead, Van Dyk exchanged hugs with some of her competitors before cheerfully jogging to second- and third-placed Natalie Strydom and Kgomotso Pholonyane, who rested in the shade after a tough three-and-a-half-lap slog in scorching conditions, for a group hug.
Afterwards, the Benoni Northerns Athletic Club (BNAC) athlete gave the photographers their moment before acknowledging the noisy crowd, led by the CGA cohort, which chanted her name in unison throughout the race.
This behaviour has come to exemplify the 13-year-old Benonian. Even after adding to her 800m gold won on December 6, which made it four national titles this year after winning the ASA and South African Schools Athletics (SASA) cross-country U13 girls’ 3km titles in September, she remains humble.
Dominance
To anyone inside the Athletics Free State (AFS) stadium, the Rynfield Primary alumnus was faultless and almost perfectly executed her strategy. She was under no pressure and would have accepted any result as long as she had clocked around 04:40 at the end of the race.
At the start, Van Dyk shot straight to the front down the back straight before opening a slight lead on her CGA teammates, Strydom and Pholonyane. She ran the first 300m in 52.17 before putting foot to pedal to open a six-and-a-half-second lead on the chasing duo.
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She took the bell in 02:07.6, and with the stadium growing loud and announcer Thabo Molete going wild on the mic, Van Dyk gave one last kick, eventually taking the tape in a PB 04:40.49.
Strydom finished almost nine seconds behind after clocking 04:49.48 for the silver, and Pholonyane made it a CGA top three in 04:49.76.
After hitting a plateau during the CGA league phase, she was chuffed after clocking her best time in the distance, and it was more special because she achieved it at the national champs.
“My time was fine in the first league, but after that, I had a bit of a standstill. I didn’t really improve my time. Today, I ran a fast time, which is what I wanted. I’m happy,” she said.
Fighter
The youngster demonstrated her never-die attitude in her 800m heat on December 6.
She set the pace after taking the lead down the back straight, with a large bunch following her. But Athletics Gauteng North’s (AGN) Nosipho Mabena came on the outside to wrestle the lead off Van Dyk before they took the bell in 01:06.
But Van Dyk managed to fight off Mabena and AFS’s Emily Viljoen when she came from the outside on the finishing straight to win in a PB 02:16.16, enough for the gold.
Viljoen grabbed the silver in 02:18.24, while AGN’s Onalenna Ngoepe passed a fading Mabena to clinch the bronze in 02:21.43.
“I’m not proud but rather impressed with myself. I’m happy with how my season was,” said Van Dyk.
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