Ballito youngsters pedal to 8 SA champs medals
Ballito racers claimed three gold medals, with Joshua Johnson (sub-junior boys), Justin Swanepoel (junior boys) and Tyler Jacobs (junior girls) all delivering flawless performances.
With ideal facilities and terrain, Ballito is producing some of South Africa’s best young cyclists.
The up-and-coming athletes again proved their mettle at last weekend’s South African XCO (cross-country) Championships in Bloemfontein, where eight returned with medals.
This beats last year’s haul at the event, which pits riders in age group levels from nippers to masters, crowning 19 athletes as the country’s best in their respective categories.
Johnson just edged fellow Ballito rider Seth Aszalos in a tight final, where the duo completed their three-lap race in 47.09 and 47.58 respectively.
Swanepoel kept his cool in the junior race, which added another two laps to that of the sub-juniors, finishing in 1:13.40, just over 25 seconds ahead of the silver medalist.
Photo: Karen Mackridge.
In one of the most dominant performances of the day, Jacobs crushed her four-lap event, finishing a mammoth four minutes ahead of second place, while Ballito’s Riley Smith finished third.
Three more young cyclists pedalled to medals, with Lila Aszalos (silver, sprog girls), Sophie Bircher (silver, nipper girls) and Errin Mackridge (bronze, youth girls) all on the podium amid strong competition.
Aside from the individual performances, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) also entered three mixed relay teams into the provincial relay event, where five riders from a province ride one lap each.
KZN’s team 1, which included Johnson, Swanepoel and Jacobs, stormed to victory, beating out Gauteng’s Top Gun team by more than three minutes.
Photo: Karen Mackridge.
KZN’s team 2 which counted Smith and another Ballito resident, Joshua Paul, among its riders, finished third in the relay event.
The XCO championships also formed the final event in the SA Cup series, where four previous events were raced in Parys, Stellenbosch, Limpopo and Johannesburg.
Mackridge grabbed silver in the youth girls series.
The next opportunity for Ballito’s cyclists to shine is at the KZN Championships on July 23.
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