The Nel Trophies Speed and Relay Athletics Meeting last Tuesday once again showcased the high level of sprinting among school athletes in the Lowveld.

The meeting is unique to the season as primary school athletes join high school athletes in competition.

“This was the 10th annual speed and relay. This meet is to bring primary and high school athletes in the region together for a mass-scale athletics development initiative. Over the years, we have handed out more than 10 000 medals and 10 000 certificates to participants. We want to send the children away from our meeting with a new passion for athletics,” said Stefan van der Merwe, sports organiser of Hoërskool Rob Ferreira.

One of the standout performances of the meet was the 13.43s clocked by Laerskool Nelspruit’s Lana Theron in the girls’ u/13 100m. She was pushed all the way by silver medallist Katelyn Kotze of Uplands Prep, who finished in 13.81s.

The boys’ u17 100m produced two sub-11 second times, both from Rob Ferreira sprinters. Prosper Masinga clocked 10.87s and Tlotlo Ratshwene 10.94s.