Before Emma Hickley celebrated her first provincial podium at the CGA cross-country championships on August 15, she had to overcome the heartbreak of coming agonisingly close a year earlier.

The Benoni Harriers athlete finished fourth at last year’s championships, a result that left her determined to return stronger. Twelve months later, her hard work and persistence were rewarded with silver in the U16 girls’ 4km at Germiston Soccer Club.

Hickley clocked a season’s best 14:58 to secure her first top-three finish at the CGA championships.

“It’s what I wanted,” she said. “I wanted to make a podium this year because last year I came fourth. This year, I wanted to make a podium, but I had to push for it.

“I felt the last 1.5km, but felt very good in the first 2.5km.”

Helpmekaar Kollege’s Sunè-Louise Prinsloo won the provincial title in a dominant 14:33, with Boxer AC’s Taya Pelser third in 15:17.

Competing in a tactical race alongside the U17 girls, Hickley settled behind the leading pair of Nicola Smith and Prinsloo after the opening lap, opening a sizeable gap over the chasing pack.

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She maintained her composure and pace, eventually finishing third overall and second among the U16 girls.

“I knew Nicola and Sunè-Louise were going to fight each other to come first and second, and I just stuck with the third person to keep my pace and keep my arms right because my coach said my arms swing a lot out, so I was controlling that,” she said.

“Before the last lap, I just went and felt good.

Hickley’s silver was the culmination of a season built around consistency. She had targeted a top-three finish in every league race and a sub-16-minute time, despite enduring a difficult spell early in the campaign.

“I went through a dip beginning of the season. I felt a bit down, but then I told myself to just keep on training even through those tough days because that’s the days that count the most.”

The Hoërskool Hans Moore teenager will now turn her attention to the national championships in Pretoria on September 5, where she hopes to improve on her 13th-place finish from last year.

“Top five or top six,” she said. “I’m going to do my best.”

Hickley was not the only Harriers athlete to make an impact, with Kaitlyn Mackay finishing sixth in the U17 girls’ 4km and Kiana Pepler eighth in the junior women’s 6km.

Roger Hickley led the men’s charge with 10th in the master men’s 50-54 race, while Jonathan Whitehead, Alexander Whitehead, Ockert Winter and Gareth Jonas all finished inside the top 20 in their respective races.

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