From parkrun debut to international gold: Michael Bekker’s rise in South African athletics

After middle-distance athlete Michael Bekker clocked an incredible 14:51 at his first parkrun at Carnival City on May 24, the 16-year-old’s stunning performance dominated the discourse on a Boksburg Athletic Club (BAC) group chat.

Members of the club showered the youngster with praise, with some calling him “a serious talent”.

Attracting the attention of some experienced BAC runners underlined the Hoërskool Kempton Park learner’s hard work over the past two years, which culminated in some explosive performances for his school and country.

Following his silver medal in the 3 000m and bronze in the 1 500m at the ASA U16, U18, U20 and U23 track and field.

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championships in Cape Town in March, the youngster was selected to represent the country in the AUSC Region Five Youth Games in Namibia.

Speaking to the publication just before leaving for Namibia, Bekker pledged to help the country win medals, and he delivered on his promise.

In his first international race, the Central Gauteng Athletics athlete dominated the youth men’s 3 000m, winning the gold medal in a lifetime best of 08:36.96.

Bekker was so dominant in this race he covered the last lap in 62 seconds and also bettered his previous best of 08:38.76 from the age-group nationals by 1.82 seconds.

The runner added a silver in the metric mile after finishing behind the exceptional De Villiers Lamprecht from the Free State in 03:57.

“I’m excited. It’s a dream to represent my country,” he said.

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“I want to participate in events like this every year. And maybe one day run in the Wanda Diamond League and Olympics.”

Bekker’s coach, Michael van Aswegen, said this performance was due to the athlete’s consistency and hard work.

“He has worked relentlessly over the last year to become one of the big names in his age group. Earning an opportunity like this was a fair reward for all the hard work he puts in,” said Van Aswegen.

Initially, Bekker was scheduled to participate in the 3 000m, but after the team managers asked if he would like to run in the 1 500m, Van Aswegen gave him the go-ahead.

“I said he should give it a bash and enjoy it. He did exactly that.

“We couldn’t have asked for a better result in the 3 000m specifically.

“Running a PB in your first outing in SA colours almost four months after our national championships shows that Micheal is on track to keep improving and developing as an athlete.”