Benonians end season with top performances at inter-provincials

Benoni athletes Thato Sesoko and Chelsea van Dyk once again cemented their status as the future stars of Central Gauteng Athletics (CGA) after claiming podium finishes at the inter-provincial sub-youth championships at Pilditch Stadium in Pretoria on November 26.

Thato, from East Athletics Club in Daveyton, won a gold medal in the girls’ U13 1 500m event. Chelsea finished second in the girls’ U11 1 200m sprint to win a silver medal for CGA.

East Athletics’ Monde Maduna told the Benoni City Times that Thato’s achievement was a reward for her hard work this year.

“This achievement means the club is now recognised for producing talented athletes. Thato is a future star who will one day represent the country in international competitions. Credit should be given to Isaac Ndlovu who trains the athletes at the club,” Maduna said.

It’s been a rewarding year for Benoni Northerns Athletics Club’s Chelsea. She capped off a good season with a performance of her life.

The 11-year-old Rynfield Primary School learner broke the four-minute barrier to achieving a personal record after she finished in a time of 03:56.

“After her first taste of major competition earlier this year, Chelsea has grown from strength to strength,” said Coach Michael van Aswegen.

The middle distance and cross-country sensation has consistently performed well on the CGA circuit. Despite her dominance in her category, her goal going into the event was to break the sub-four barrier.

“Her self-belief and discipline have driven her to achieve extraordinary results this year. We are incredibly excited to see what the next few years have in store for her.

“She finished off what has been an exceptional season with a personal best and has cemented her name as one to watch for the future,” Van Aswegen stated.”

CGA general manager Mandla Radebe thanked all the athletes for their performances.

“As CGA, we are delighted by the performances of our athletes overall. A total of 50 medals were collected by our 123 athletes,” he said.

Radebe explained that they will start a programme to monitor their progress to ensure they are still within the system once they move from the primary schools category.

“This age group is significant to determine and measure our progress of various development programmes within the province.

“We will be developing a system to trace these athletes in the next four to eight years to ensure we retain them within athletics. What’s important is to ensure they continue to compete at a high level.

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