As the schools athletics season draws to a close with only the national junior championships still to be held in Cape Town at the end of the month, the focus has shifted to the country’s senior talent on the athletics track.

If the action at last week’s first of Athletics South Africa’s (ASA) two Grand Prix events at the Pilditch track in Pretoria West is any indication, athletics fans can look forward to a season of highlights.

The unique style of these meetings, which focuses primarily on action-packed items on the track, while field events get more of the spotlight than usual, makes them attractive to spectators and at the same time a digestible TV product.

Several stalwarts among the South African participants, as well as a few top athletes from neighbouring countries, have shown that they are ready to make the sparks fly on the athletics track this year.

Two national records, one on the track and one in the field, were broken at the meeting.

In the women’s 4x400m relay, the national team set a new record time of 03:28.30. This team consisted of two local stars, former Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool and Die Hoërskool Menlopark athletes, Zeney Geldenhuys and Marlie Viljoen; UJ student Shirley Nekhubui and Rustenburger Miranda Coetzee.

Another UJ student and three-time national champion, 27-year-old Leandri Holtzhauzen, improved her own national hammer throw record (66.54m) for women by more than a metre to 67.95m.

The meeting produced two big surprises.

18-year-old Karabo Letebele’s victory in the men’s 100m in a time of 10.19s caught several experts off guard. This young man, who wrote matric last year, participated in the colours of his old school, Hoërskool Transvalia.

Letebele competed with veterans such as Commonwealth Games medallist Emile Erasmus (second in the same time of 10.19s) and former African champion from Kenya, Omanyala Ferdinand (third in 10.22s).

The surprise that probably attracted the most attention came in the men’s 400m, where Bayapo Ndori (44,59s) of Botswana beat his compatriot and athletics superstar, Letsile Tebogo (45,42s), in a brilliant race.

However, Tebogo, the Olympic 200m champion in Paris last year, did not seem too worried after the race and said his focus was on the World Championships in Japan in September.

Other local athletes who performed well at the event were Marjoné Fourie, who recorded the fastest time so far this year (12.77s) in the women’s 100m hurdles; Prudence Sekgodiso, the former Tuks High School student who is now associated with the Phantane club, who won the 800m in 1;59.01; Leonette Vosloo from Tuks who won the women’s 100m in 11.74s; Jovan van Vuuren who won the men’s long jump in 7.67m and Fredriech Pretorius with his victory of 4.70m in the men’s pole vault.

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