Mamonyane is all smiles after her national title of the year
She won the race in 03:49.27.
Mahlatse Mamonyane put the ghosts of her SA Schools Athletics (SASA) track and field championships to rest after a stunning performance to clinch the U11 girls’ 1 200m gold at the ASA age-group track and field championships in Bloemfontein on December 6.
After injuring her leg at the primary school nationals in March, which cost her a medal and sidelined her for months, she came back on the backend of the cross-country season to win the U11 girls’ 3km race provincial gold before clinching the national title in September.
After a dominant display in the CGA league phase, she won her second provincial title three weeks ago before producing one of her best performances of the season at the Athletics Free State (AFS) Stadium to win her second national title this year.
Besides her CGA teammates, Mia Ingelthorpe and Mahlatse Maroga, no one in the 27-athlete bunch challenged the East Athletic Club (EAC) junior runner except for Athletics Transkei’s (ATRA) Melokuhle Baloni and Athletics Central North West’s (ACNW) Simonè Herselman.
She went into the event as the favourite and went right up at the front from the start to lead the race from the gun to the tape, with Ingelthorpe and Maroga following closely.
The rest of the chasing pack had no answer to Mamonyane’s pace and after establishing a healthy lead between her and the chasing duo, she eventually took the tape at 03:49.27.
Ingelthorpe and Maroga made it a CGA top three when the former crossed the line in 03:55.52 for silver, while the latter clocked 03:57.42 for the bronze.
Speaking to the publication on the second day of the championships on December 7, she said, “After my disappointment in Polokwane in March, I am happy to have overcome that. It means a lot; thanks to my coach and teammates for their support.”
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