One of South African athletics legends, Rikenette Steenkamp, has decided to put her spikes away for good.

Steenkamp was born and raised in Pretoria and already made a name for herself as a top athlete as a schoolgirl at Die Hoërskool Menlopark.

The Tuks athlete has undoubtedly been the leading lady of 100m-hurdles racing since 2010 in South Africa.

In 47 local races, she has been beaten only twice in the short hurdles. It was in 2010 and 2013. According to the World Athletics statistics, Steenkamp has since 2014 notched up 29 consecutive victories racing in South Africa.

The lithe blonde athlete is the current 100m-hurdles record-holder (12.81s) and the indoor 60m-hurdles record-holder (8.17s). She won four South African titles and one African title. Another definite highlight was winning gold in 2018 during the World Cup Meeting in London.

One can’t help but wonder what more Steenkamp would have achieved if she was not injured at crucial times of her career. When reading her World Athletics profile, her absence from the track for extended times is hard to miss. In 2015 she seemingly only competed in one 4x100m-relay race. In 2016 and 2022, she did not race at all.

Still, the Tuks athlete has no regrets. She has so many memories that would stand the test of time. 2010 was without her breakthrough year. Steenkamp won the South African senior, junior (under-20) and student 100m-hurdles titles.

According to Steenkamp, she had not entirely realised what she had achieved.

“At 17, I was young and naive. I wanted to run and make finals. Most importantly, I ran to enjoy myself. I was stunned that I had won the senior national title. That victory was the start of my journey.

Probably the biggest highlight of her career was the day she broke the national record in the 100m hurdles.

“That day is one I will never forget. Since I won my first South African title, I have dreamed of running a sub 13s race. I got to do so in 2017,” she remarked.

That year, within four days, Steenkamp ran two sub-13-second races. On 28 June in Ostrava, she ran 12.99s. And then, on 2 July in Switzerland, she clocked 12.92s. A year later, at the same venue, she set a new national record running 12.81s.

Steenkamp was undoubtedly at the peak of her career in 2018, dipping under 13 seconds no less than five times.

According to Steenkamp, the day she won gold at the World Cup in London was the closest she came to running the perfect race. Her winning time was 12.88s.

“It was amazing. Everything clicked and it felt like I was flowing over the hurdles,” she said.

Steenkamp promises that she will always in some way be involved in sports. At the moment, she gets joy from coaching primary school athletes.

For now, she is most excited about the new chapter that starts in March when she gets married to Jan-Chris Avenant.

A fighter, a champion and a record breaker!
Rikenette Steenkamp has always been an asset to South Africa on the track.
We wish her well in all her future endeavours off of it.#retirementpost pic.twitter.com/inVWoEzkeT

— Athletics_SA (@AthleticsSA_) February 3, 2023

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