Young athletes from Grahamstown know how to charm the media. During the Albany Athletics meet for field events on Wednesday, the young stars shared snippets from their lives with Grocott’s Mail.
David Kombe (16) from Kingswood College came first in the U17 high jump with a personal best of 1.86m, making it to the provincial championships last year.
Young athletes from Grahamstown know how to charm the media. During the Albany Athletics meet for field events on Wednesday, the young stars shared snippets from their lives with Grocott’s Mail.
David Kombe (16) from Kingswood College came first in the U17 high jump with a personal best of 1.86m, making it to the provincial championships last year.
This talented young man from Zambia also competes in long jump and triple jump. Kombe’s role model is the fastest man in the world, international 100m sprinter Usain Bolt. Another athlete reaching great heights is Elam Dyonase (15).
Dyonase was the star of her primary school, Victoria Primary, last year for discus. This year Dyonase, a Grade 8 learner at Victoria Girls’ High, came first in discus in her house, Thursford.
She started practising discus three years ago and has been going strong ever since. Onke Masako (17) from Graeme College has been competing in long jump for three years.
He was sitting on the PJ Olivier High School rugby field watching the other athletes, fretting over his long jump results.
Masako already qualified for U19 200m sprint at the Cacadu Championships in Humansdorp next weekend. “I’m keen, I haven’t been there before,” he says.
His winter sport of choice isrugby where he plays outside Young Albany athletes tell their secrets centre. Margueritte Moolman (16) from PJ Olivier came second in the U17 100m last weekend, so she will also go to the Cacadu Championships.
This is her second year of competing in long jump, and while she was still waiting to hear if she qualified to the next round for field events she says she is excited and nervous to run in Humansdorp.
Moolman says she is scared the other contestants will run way ahead of her. Sibusiso Matyolweni is the champion of last Saturday’s U17 100m sprint, which he completed in only 11.35 seconds.
He could not go to the provincial championships last ear due to an injury, but this year he is more than ready. Matyolweni says: “I feel very excited, because I am going to have an experience I’ve never had in my life.”
