Young runner earns spot at World Athletics Cross Country Championships
Grade 11 athlete Benkosi Maqwara will represent South Africa in the U18 boys’ 8km at the World Cross Country Championships in Florida, USA.
Benkosi Maqwara, one of the Tembisa Athletics Club’s brightest young talents, will represent SA at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships (Florida, USA) in the U18 boys’ 8km event.
A Grade 11 learner at the Tembisa Commerce and Entrepreneurship School of Specialisation, Maqwara’s journey to international competition has been nothing short of inspiring.
He earned his place after a strong performance at the Athletics South Africa (ASA) Cross Country Championships trials in Mpumalanga, where he finished 5th overall following a first-place finish at the provincial championships.
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Earlier this year, the promising athlete jetted off to Cape Town to compete in the ASA Age Group and U23 Championships, made possible through a sponsorship from Emperors Palace, which covered his kit, travel expenses and accommodation.
Maqwara and his coach, Elvis Khoza, along with his aunt and guardian, Nancy Nkumbesi, were treated to a stay at the Mondior Hotel at the Palace of Dreams, before receiving a grand send-off from the Emperors Palace CSI Team at the OR Tambo International Airport.
The 18-year-old began taking athletics seriously in Grade Seven, focusing on middle-distance and cross-country events.
His achievements include winning his age group in the ASA Schools Cross Country Championships and finishing second in both the ASA Club Cross Country Championships and the 3 000m event in the Central Gauteng Athletics Championships.
“Tembisa AC is known for producing great talent like Ryan Mphahlele, and now we’ve unearthed another gem in Maqwara,” said his longtime coach.
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“Maqwara looks up to Mphahlele. He’s shown him that your background does not define your success. Last year, Benkosi won the boys’ U17 mile at the Zithulele Sinqe Road Race, and this year, he won the 5km event at the same race,” said Khoza.
With his discipline, humility and drive, Benkosi Maqwara is fast proving himself as one of SA’s most exciting young prospects, a reflection of the talent and potential emerging from the Tembisa Athletics Club.
