South Africa has welcomed home its athletics team from the recent CAA African Seniors Championships in Cameroon where they won the overall championship.
Team SA won 19 medals overall in the men’s and women’s divisions made up of nine gold, four silver, and six bronze at the African showpiece event.
This is the first time since 2016 that the Rainbow nation has won the African Championship while dethroning Kenya, the defending champions.
In a press release, Athletics South Africa praised the efforts of its gallant athletes.
“Our soldiers have fulfilled the mandate given to them at this championship and have reclaimed the African crown after wrestling it from Kenya,” said an excited James Moloi, the President of Athletics South Africa.
Overall, nine South African athletes emerged triumphant in their events including Miranda Coetzee (400m), Rogail Joseph (400m hurdles), teenager Ashley Erasmus (shot put), Jo-Ane van Dyk (javelin throw), Mire Reinstorf (pole vault), Cheswill Johnson (long jump), Brian Raats (high jump), Kyle Rademeyer (pole vault) and the mixed 4x400m relay team.
The silver medallists included Marione Fourie (100m hurdles), Mine de Klerk (shot put), Jana van Schalkwyk (javelin throw), and Victor Hogan (discus throw).
As well, Danielle Nolte (long jump), Shannon Verster (heptathlon), Collette Uys (shot put), Benjamin Richardson (100m), Alan Cumming (hammer throw) and Wayne Snyman (20km walk) all earned bronze medals.
The mixed 4x400m relay team of Gardeo Isaacs, Shirley Nekhubui, Mthi Mthimkulu, and Miranda Coetzee, raced to victory in the final in 3:13.12. They shattered the SA record of 3:14.97 which had been set by a different quartet at the ASA Grand Prix meeting in Johannesburg earlier this season.
“Our soldiers have fulfilled the mandate given to them at this championship and have reclaimed the African crown after wrestling it from Kenya,” said an excited James Moloi, the President of Athletics South Africa.
“The beauty of it all is that this mega achievement comes at the time when the whole Rainbow Nation needs such inspirational stories. This also comes at a time when South Africa needed a morale booster ahead of the Olympic Games in Paris, France next month under Team South Africa led by SASCOC, our national Olympic mother body.
“Our entire Athletics Family is grateful to all athletes, coaches, managers, medical team, and all other support staff. In particular, we thank all athletes for continuing to seek top performance despite the dire challenges they all had to endure with the entire team during the entire competition. We thank them for not allowing themselves to be distracted from the task of representing South Africa first and fought for the honour of beating the rest of the continent to earn the bragging rights. We thank provinces and the various sponsors at the different levels of the season for making this all possible.
“We are now keeping our fingers crossed that World Athletics will accept this entire competition as legitimate so that deserving athletes throughout Africa, including ours can be admitted to the Olympics.”
According to ASA, the majority of its national team arrived in the chilly and awkward hours (2.20am) of the night on Friday at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. Only a small number of six which include four athletes with medals, arrived this afternoon at 4.30pm.
