With everything in life there are up and downs; our local sports personalities also had their fair share of highs and lows during the year 2013.
It is crucial that all local individuals, clubs, teams and associations take the success of 2013 over into the New Year and learn from the bumpy moments of the previous year.
Here are some of the highs of 2013:
February:
- Ekurhuleni’s Wikus Webber won the Germiston-leg of the Joburg City Triathlon Series. Andrea Steyn won the women’s race.
- Germiston’s Team Reapers won the Division Three (five-man) South African Regional Paintball League Season Rankings Tournament.
March:
- Tyler Day won the Carnival City Cycling Classic. The race was organised by Germiston Wheelers and Germiston Rotary Club.
- Primrose’s Grant Fourie showed that he is back in the field of boxing when he knocked out Evans Mamaleka in the third round of their junior welterweight bout, at Presley’s, in Boksburg. Fourie had been struggling with illness over the last few years.
- Germiston Callies’ track and field athletes showed good form when they took six gold medals at a Central Gauteng Athletics (CGA) meeting at Germiston Stadium. Kayla Gilbert came first in both 100m hurdles and the long jump.
April:
- Germiston Callies’ athletes brought home five gold medals from the South African Athletics Championships, in East London.
- Katlehong’s Vusi “Marvelous” Malinga defeated Philippines national Diarth Gabutan on points, in an IBF bantamweight eliminator, at Carnival City.
- Albemarle’s Kyle Groenewald (9) won the Emperors Palace Kiddies’ Cycling Race.
May:
- Luso Africa’s women’s side was unbeaten throughout the season and won the league title.
- Primrose body building club Unique Physique’s Jason Minnie came first in the u-18 age category and Luke Smith came fourth at the IBFF Body Building Tournament in Springs.
- Marlands’ Camden McLellan finished first in the 50cc Senior Class National Motocross Championships in Port Elizabeth.
June:
- Kayla Gilbert came second in a 100m hurdles race, in Potchefstroom.
- Lambton kickboxing club Tebbutt Academy brought home 123 (57 gold) medals after competing in WAKO tournaments in Pretoria and Kempton Park.
- Hekkie “The Hexecutioner” Budler became an international superstar when he beat Nkosinathi “Mabhere” Joyi to retain his International Boxing Organisation (IBO) strawweight world title at Emperors Palace.
July:
- Ekurhuleni’s Samkelo Radebe walked away with a top award from the prestigious Gauteng Sports Awards held at Emperors Palace. The Paralympic athlete was named the Gauteng Sports Personality of the Year, an award voted for by the public.
- Barend “BB Gun” Nienaber won his first EFC Africa fight. The Ekurhuleni fighter beat Kanyeba Anicet by a second-round submission at EFC Africa 20, at Carnival City.
- Germiston Simmer Rugby Club’s u-19 side won the cup.
August:
- Germiston’s Aimee, Kyle and Tammi Botes impressed at the Central Gauteng Gymnastics Association Championships. Kyle walked away with a gold medal, Aimee and Tammi both received bronze medals.
- Primrose boxer Jarred Silverman knocked out Emmanuel Mokoro in the second round of their welterweight clash, at Presley’s, in Boksburg.
- Anzelle Koekemoer, from Primrose’s Unique Physique, placed first in the Lady Fitness Division of the Rudx Body Building Competition. Clubmate Luke Smith came second in the u-18 division.
September:
- Top South African boxer’s, Johnny “The Hurricane” Muller, Nkosinathi Joyi, Ryno “The Lion” Liebenberg and DRC’s Ilunga Makabu won their fights at the Triple Thunder boxing tournament held at Emperors Palace.
- Germiston’s Kaizen Judo club’s judokas won five medals at the South African Judo Championships in Port Elizabeth.
- Elsburg Rugby Club won their local league.
- Germiston Cricket Club’s u-13 team were the runners-up at the ABU-ASVAT Tournament.
October:
- Luso Africa FC’s u-20 team did extremely well in the Easterns Local FA (ELFA) League, which saw them named the u-20 champions. They won 14 of the 15 games they played and drew one.
- Germiston City FC’s u-7 team won the Milan League and were winners, in their age group, at the Elsburg Jomo Cosmos FC Tournament, held at the Elspark Sports Grounds.
- Tebbutt Academy members raked up a total of 147 trophies and 36 medals at one of their local annual tournaments.
November:
- The Pilsung Taekwon-Do Club, in Lambton, took part in the Veritas Championships in Johannesburg and brought home six gold, four silver and two bronze medals. The club also managed to scoop the Overall Tiger Trophy (junior) and Overall Veritas Championship Trophy.
- Ekurhuleni’s Lauren Dance came third in the Ekurhuleni 5150 African Championship, held at the Germiston Lake Park.
- Nippon Dojo Shotokan Karate Club students won 28 medals at the Shin-GI-Tai South African Championships.
December:
- Erin Anderson represented South Africa at the Junior African Swimming Championships and won three gold medals and one silver medal.
- Sonja Schutte made it to the podium at the Sub-Youth Inter-Provincial Championships, in Potchefstroom, in the 1 500m fast walk.
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