Local athletes to fly CGA flag high in Cape Town
They are part of CGA's 282 athletes to represent the province at the nationals.
Chelsea van Dyk and Bronwyn Nel will lead the Benoni contingent representing CGA at the ASA age group and multi-event track and field championships in Cape Town this weekend.
The Benoni Northerns Athletic Club’s (BNAC) Van Dyk and Nel, of Benoni Harriers Athletic Club (BNHAC), are among seven local athletes that will battle for central Gauteng in the three-day national event at Green Point Stadium.
Six runners will represent BNAC, while Nel is the only athlete from BNHAC in the provincial team.
US-bound Nel won the U20 women’s 3 000m at the provincials and will compete in the seven-and-a-half laps race at the nationals. The runner is in red-hot form and undefeated in the distance in the province this year. She boasts a season’s best of 10:44.76.
Van Dyk’s love affair with the national championships shows a few signs of abating as the St Dunstan’s College Grade Eight learner looks to add another gold to her five-medal haul at ASA competitions since 2023.
The 13-year-old will compete in the U16 girls’ 1 500m, 3 000m and 1 500m steeplechase.
She goes into the championships after clinching three titles at the CGA champs on March 15 and boasts a PB 04:33.63 in the 1 500m, 09:48.26 in the 3 000m and 05:07.36 in the steeplechase.
Also Read: Nel hopes for glory at nationals
Tamica Lloyd, a bronze medalist in the steeplechase at the provincials, will join Van Dyk in the 1 500m steeplechase, while Mheho Mhlongo will compete in the U16 boys’ race.
The U18 girls’ 2 000m steeplechase provincial champion, Jade Doran, a bronze medalist at last year’s nationals in Pretoria, will compete in the same event.
Ashton International College learner Kgalalelo Shuping, a bronze medalist at the CGA champs, will attempt a podium finish in the U16 boys’ 1 500m race in his first nationals.
Sprinter Logan Oosthuizen, a silver medalist in 100m and 200m at the ASA sub-youth track and field championships in 2023, will run in the U16 boys’ 400m race. He achieved a PB of 50.89 achieved at the provincials.
The athletes form part of a strong provincial team of 282 athletes that will represent CGA in the national competition, which will pit the country’s best upcoming athletes.
The CGA team includes world U20 championships 400m winner Udeme Okon, who will compete in the 200m and the one-lap dash. Okon will go head-to-head with the national U20 200m record holder and world U20 championships 100m and 200m champion, Bayanda Walaza.
Race walker Lee Nyathi, an eight-time race walking champion in different age groups, will also lead the CGA group. She will contest for top honours in the U20 women’s 10 000m walk.
The three-day event starts on March 27 and will conclude on March 29.
Also Read: Van Dyk wins three titles at CGA champs
