Athletes show their mettle
Running is in their blood! Four former learners of Hoërskool Nylstroom excelled last week at the South African Athletics Championships held in Pietermaritzburg.
These athletes, who made life difficult for the competitors at school level, continued with their passion for athletics after school.
Tariro Nkosi, who matriculated last year, came second in the women’s high jump and is boasting a silver medal. She is part of the Athletics Gauteng Central team and participates for the University of Johannesburg (UJ).
Leonette Vosloo, a fourth-year teaching student at the University of Pretoria (UP), brought home a bronze medal after her team, Athletics Gauteng North, was third in the 4 x 100 m relay.
Vosloo participated in the 100 m and was in fifth place. She was in eleventh place in the 200 m.
“Though I didn’t get a place in the 200 m I’m very happy with my performance as I ran two new personal best times in this item,” she said.
She trains with Jaun Strydom at the UP.
Vosloo said she only participated in discus and shotput in primary school. In grade 8 she started to perform well in the 100 m and trained with her father, Jaco Vosloo, who has been the athletics coach at Hoërskool Nylstroom for many years.
Daniël Briel, who struggled with an injury earlier this year, was delighted with his gold medal after his team, Athletics Central North West, won the 4 x 400 m relay for men. He placed sixth in his heat during the 400 m event.
Briel, who matriculated last year, is studying for a BSc Agriculture degree at the North West University in Potchefstroom.
“I haven’t been able to compete for a while and it took me some time to get into the right frame of mind. Once I focussed on competing for the team and not for myself, the pressure was off and I enjoyed it immensely,” he said.
Briel used to be a long-distance and cross-country athlete and ran his first 400 m at the end of Grade 10. He trains with Dr Ria van den Berg.
The 24-year-old Abraham Kubjane was eighth in the 1500 m for men. Kubjane was the 800 m school champion in 2018.
Another top Nylie athlete, William Mabena is currently competing in the United States (USA) where he is studying at the Multnomah University in Portland, Oregon.
He took part in the Spokane Invitational Championship in December last year, where he placed in the top eight in the 200 m. Mabena was the 100 m school champion in 2018 and won a silver medal in the 200 m event in the same year. Both Briel and Mabena trained with Jaco Vosloo during their school careers.
