[VIDEO] Oscar sprints his way to Olympics
Seshego-based athlete, Oscar Mavundla put Limpopo on the map when he recently qualified for the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games during the World Relays Championship in Silesia, Poland.
POLOKWANE – Oscar and his team narrowly edged Brazil in a tightly contested finish. They completed the race in 38.71 seconds and ultimately cried victory after the Brazilian team was disqualified. It was also South Africa’s first gold medal at the World Relay Championships.
Oscar trains with coach George Mehale in Polokwane, who told BONUS that it is a great honour to coach Oscar, whom he describes as a talented, motivated and hardworking athlete. Mehale also urged residents to support local athletes and artists, saying Limpopo is rich in talent.
The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture recognised our local athletes’ achievements on Thursday, 06 May, at the Olympic Towers when MEC, Thandi Moraka honoured and congratulated all the track and field athletes from the province for their outstanding performance the past few months. Oscar was honoured to be among them.
He said despite his studies, sport will always be his biggest passion. “I believe I’m an all-rounder and that I can achieve anything I put my mind to.”
“It was my first time running in front of a world audience and I was very excited, knowing we had a strong team and a good chance to qualify for the Olympics, and hopefully win medals too.
“I felt just as strong as the world-class athletes running beside me,” Oscar said.
He elaborated that the team’s main goal was to qualify for the Olympic Games, which they did by placing fifth, a great achievement.
“I’m happy since our team got a gold medal and we were also ranked fifth in the world. We are preparing to do great at the Olympic Games,” he said.
He is looking forward to improving his individual 400 m time as he also wants to perform separately from the team.
“I’ll be in Algeria next month representing my country at the All-Africa Games so that’s where I hope to improve on my personal time. There are a few other meets in Europe where I will be competing to prepare for the Olympics,” Oscar said.
