Athletics Central North West (ACNW) performed admirably with a third-place overall in the ASA Senior Track and Field Championship that was held from April 16-18 in Stellenbosch.
Athletics Gauteng North took first place with 44 medals (18 gold, 15 silver, and 11 bronze). Central Gauteng Athletics was second with 19 medals (10 gold, 1 silver, and 8 bronze). ACNW took third place with 24 medals (5 gold, 12 silver, and 7 bronze). Even though ACNW obtained more medals, they still placed in third position due to the number of gold medals counting more.
The championships had their fair share of thrills, with rain keeping the action interesting and adding a layer of unpredictability.
The highlights for ACNW were the gold medal achievements of Rogail Joseph (women’s 400m hurdles), Jerry Motsau (men’s 5 000m race), Waldouw Smit (men’s javelin), Valco van Wyk (men’s pole vault), and Renate van der Merwe (women’s 5km race walk).
Motsau won his fourth national title and is still going strong at the age of 36 under the guidance of coach, Jean Verster.
Both Smit and Van der Merwe have ties to Potchefstroom Gimnasium. Smit is a former learner, whilst Van der Merwe is currently a Grade 10-learner at the school. Smit defended his title with a best attempt of 80.88m. She finished in a time of 24:59.
Van Wyk secured his seventh men’s pole vault title with a 5.10m clearance. Despite earlier admissions of doubt regarding his future in the sport, the 25-year-old’s perseverance ultimately paved the way for this latest victory.
“All glory to God. Winning seven titles is an incredible blessing. I would like to make use of my young body and jump as long as I can, and enjoy it. I would like to inspire young pole vaulters through a story of perseverance.”
Joseph, an Olympic semi-finalist, won her first 400m hurdles national title in a time of 55.94 seconds, blitzing the competition on a wet track.
Luan Munnik narrowly missed out on gold against compatriot Tshepo Tshite from KwaZulu-Natal Athletics. Munnik held on for the silver medal in 3:43.35, just behind Tshite’s time of 3:42.40.
Viwe Jingqi of ACNW missed out on gold by a hair against Joviale Mbisha of Central Gauteng Athletics in the women’s 100m event. Both finished in 11.55 seconds.
One of the big stories of the championships was the return to the top spot on the podium for Luvo Manyonga, a former world champion and Olympic silver medallist, who won the SA title for the first time since 2019. The 35-year-old landed a distance of 8.04m.
