Thembisa athlete lands a sponsorship
“I’m feeling good. I have been preparing for a long time for this. I am out of words. I wasn’t expecting something this big [the sponsorships] and will do my best.”
Promising Thembisa athlete Benkosi Maqwara jetted off to Cape Town on March 26 to compete in the Athletics South Africa Age Group and U23 Championships, thanks to a sponsorship from Emperors Palace.
The Grade 11 learner at the Tembisa Commerce and Entrepreneurship School of Specialisation with a focus on hospitality and tourism (Tembisa SOS) received VIP treatment from the East Rand resort and casino.
The 18-year-old, who took athletics, particularly the middle-distance events and cross-country earnestly when in Grade Seven, was treated to a night’s stay in the Mondior Hotel at the Palace of Dreams the night before his flight, along with his coach, Elvis Khoza, and aunt and guardian, Nancy Nkumbesi.
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The casino then transported him and his team to OR Tambo International Airport by Mercedes Benz, where members of the Palace of Dreams’ CSI team sent him on his way with prayers, song, dance and well wishes.
As part of the VIP experience, Emperors Palace also arranged access to the Premiere Lounge at both airports, transport in Cape Town to and from their accommodation and collected Maqwara and his team on their return to OR Tambo by Mercedes on Sunday and took them home.
In addition, the promising athletics star had his kit sponsored by the Palace of Dreams and received R2,000 pocket money for his trip and a smartwatch to help him realise his dream of one day representing SA on the global stage.
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Before his departure, Maqwara said, “I’m feeling good. I have been preparing for a long time for this. I am out of words. I wasn’t expecting something this big [the sponsorships] and will do my best.”
The young athlete, who won the ASA Schools Cross Country championships for his age group and came second in the ASA Club Cross Country championships last year, came third in the 5 000m in the provincial championships last month and second in 3 000m at the recent Central Gauteng Athletics championships is certainly one to watch.
“Ryan Mphahlele is my hero. We come from the same hood (Thembisa), and he inspired me to take athletics seriously.
He showed me that it doesn’t matter where you come from; as long as you have a goal and know what you want to achieve, you will see yourself being somewhere you never could have imagined,” he said.
