The 2026 World Athletics U20 Championships, hosted in the city of Eugene in the state of Oregon in the north-west of America, concluded on Sunday evening (SA time) and the South African team can feel satisfied with their success, as they return home with eight medals.

In addition to the eight medals won, the South African team of 51 athletes proved that they are no slouch when it comes to international competition. Several SA athletes advanced to the finals of their events, while personal best times and distances were the order of the day. These statistics prove firstly how well prepared the South African athletes were (considering that the championships took place outside the local season) and secondly that international participation is essential to help them achieve better performance.

On the last day of the championship local athletes from Pretoria once again contributed generously to South Africa’s eventual tenth position (out of 147 participating countries) on the medal table.

– First-year Tuks student Tumi Ramokgopa was one of South Africa’s big stars at the championships. She won her second silver medal on the final day when she finished second in the women’s 400m hurdles. She achieved this by setting a new personal best of 55.88s in the final. Ramokgopa also won silver in the women’s 100m hurdles the previous day.

– Shortly after Ramokgopa’s achievement, another Tuks student and former Curro Hazeldean pupil, Matodzi Ndou, won South Africa’s seventh medal in the men’s 400m hurdles. Ndou earned a bronze medal when he finished third in the race. His time was 49.90s.

Unfortunately, South African athletics supporters were deprived of the privilege of seeing two local athletes in action in this final when another Tuks student, Lesibe Dikgale, had to withdraw from the 400m hurdles race shortly before the final. Dikgale, who is also a former Curro Hazeldean pupil, finished second in the semi-final, but had to withdraw from the final due to injury.

– Even South Africa’s last (eighth) medal at the championships, won in the very last track event on day five, has a Pretoria connection. One of the team members who won the silver medal in the men’s 4x400m relay, Ryno Riekert, is an alumnus of Die Hoërskool Menlopark.

Riekert, who is currently studying in America, and his teammates, Kryn Romeijn, Abelines Schoeman and Leendert Koekemoer, set a new African record of 3:02.76min for the event during the final, which was won by the highly regarded American team.

– Zattu Hlongwane (Tuks) and Phenyo Miyen (TuksSport High School) were part of the South African 4x100m team that also competed in the final of this event on day five. They finished sixth in a time of 39.48s.

– 16-year-old Tiisetso Malungane from Curro Hazeldean can be proud of his achievement of reaching the final of the men’s 1500m race at such a young age. He eventually finished ninth in a time of 3:42.98min. Malungane gained valuable experience at the championships and will definitely be a medal contender in two years if he can stay committed.

– Another 16-year-old athlete from Pretoria who performed exceptionally at the championship is Joshua Gerber from Die Hoërskool Menlopark. Gerber again improved his personal best distance on day five in the final of the discus event to ultimately finish ninth with a distance of 61.43m.

He qualified for the final of this event on the fourth day of the championship with a throw of 61.19m. This attempt was 41cm further than his personal best of 60.78 with the 1.75kg discus which he recorded earlier this year.

Gerber therefore improved his personal best at the championships by 65cm. His distance in the final was less than 5m short of the distance with which American athlete Simon Rosseli (66.39m) won the event. The 19-year-old Rosseli’s distance was also a new American U.20 record.

Gerber was the youngest competitor and the only 16-year-old in the final. He will still qualify for this championship in 2028 and if he can build on his progress of the past few seasons, he should be almost unstoppable on his way to the gold medal by then.

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