Sun, gees and records galore at Citybug Lowveld Interprimary
No fewer than 10 records were broken by the participating schools and athletes during the 2026 Citybug Lowveld Interprimary.
The 2026 Citybug Lowveld Interprimary was certainly one to remember, with records tumbling all day under the hot and humid skies at Hoërskool Nelspruit on Valentine’s Day.
Hosted by Laerskool Bergland on Saturday, the event was put together to be enjoyed by everyone.
With a theme that paid homage to Ancient Greece and the Summer Olympics, Bergland poured hours of effort into organising the meet – all the athletes had to do was show up and give their best.
@lowvelder Die skole wat vandag aan die Citybug Interlaer deelneem se trotse atlete het reeds tydens die optog gewys dat hulle alles gaan gee op die baan en veld. #laerskoolbergland #laerskoolnelspruit #laerskoolbarberton #laerskoollaeveld #nelspruitprimary
Thankfully, that’s exactly what they did. Saturday, February 14, showcased some of the finest primary school athletics talent the Lowveld has to offer.
While heavy rain was predicted for the afternoon, the weather mostly co-operated, with only a light midday drizzle.
The downpour eventually arrived at the end of the day, soaking participants during the staff relay.
The first gold medal of the day went to Laerskool Laeveld’s Lara Mouton, who claimed the girls U13 1 500m, while the final gold was taken by White River Primary School in a dramatic boys U13 4x80m relay.
Rain began just before the start of the relay.
Cheered on by a lively crowd, hosts Bergland looked poised for victory.
Event helpers ran onto the home straight, urging their team forward, but in spectacular fashion, White River snatched a nail-biting win at the line.
It was a fitting end to a brilliant and fiercely competitive day.
Laerskool Nelspruit emerged on top by a fair margin, though not without a fight.
Laerskool Laeveld and Laerskool Lydenburg put in impressive performances, securing a healthy haul of medals to complete the top three.
A unique highlight of this year’s meet was the way Bergland celebrated new records.
Athletes were handed a ceramic plate with the old record written on it and invited to smash it with a hammer.
They were then given a plate with their new record to take home – a memorable and symbolic way to mark their achievement.
In total, a staggering 10 new records were set this year – five belonged to Laeveld and three to Nelspruit, while White River and Primary earned one each.
Laeveld’s U8 athlete Mijanke van der Merwe was the only athlete to break two records: 60m (09.48sec) and 80m (12.42sec).
Laeveld’s other record-breakers were Kenzo Usen – boys U7 60m, 09.83sec; Talia Barnard – girls U10 70m hurdles, 13.04sec; and the U8 girls 4x80m relay, 51.92sec.
Aimee Dippenaar – girls U13 75m hurdles, 12.44sec; Vanessa Badenhorst – girls U11 long jump, 4.5m; and the boys U8 4x80m relay, 49.81sec, were Nelspruit’s record-setters.
Primary’s boys U10 4x80m relay set a new record of 45.40sec and White River’s Lané Kruger set a new girls U10 shot put record of 9.6m.
Individual award winners:
• Best girl, track – Charlika van der Walt (Nelspruit)
• Best boy, track – Wisdom Olaifa (White River)
• Best girl, field – Anabelle du Plessis (White River)
• Best boy, field – Savian Janse van Rensburg (Nelspruit)
• Best girl, hurdles – Talia Barnard (Laeveld)
• Best boy, hurdles – Kiano Crous (White River)
• Best girl, middle distances – Lara Mouton (Laeveld)
• Best boy, middle distances – Stian Pretorius (Nelspruit)
• Junior victrix ludorum – Mijanke van der Merwe (Laeveld)
• Junior victor ludorum – Tiaan Stoltz (Nelspruit)
• Senior victrix ludorum – Vanessa Badenhorst (Nelspruit)
• Senior victor ludorum – Stefan Augustyn (Nelspruit)
• Best overall performance – Anabelle du Plessis (White River).
Final medal table:
Lowvelder capture many a great moment throughout the course of the day, feel free to peruse our galleries below:
• IN FOTO’S: Laerskool Bergland skitter as gasheerskool tydens die 2026 Citybug Interlaer
• IN PHOTOS: Nelspruit Primary’s athletes shine during Citybug Interprimary
• IN PHOTOS: White River Primary show some excellent athletics skills at Citybug Interprimary 2026
• IN FOTO’S: Laerskool Lydenburg blink uit tydens die Citybug Interlaer
• IN FOTO’S: Laerskool Barberton wys hulle staal tydens 2026 Citybug Interlaer
• IN FOTO’S: Laerskool Laeveld toon sportmansgees tydens 2026 Citybug Interlaer
• IN FOTO’S: Laerskool Nelspruit in aksie tydens die Citybug Interlaer
