2014 sporting highlights

sabelom@caxton.co.za

Barefoot skiing

Shianne named Sportswoman of the Year

Barefoot water-skier Shianne Addinall (15) was named Ekurhuleni’s Junior Sportswoman of the Year at a splendour Ekurhuleni Sports Awards ceremony at Birchwood Hotel on March 14.

Shianne claims silver at Junior World Championship

Boksburg’s barefoot water skiing revelation, Shianne Addinall, finished behind New Zealand national Brooke Fitch to claim silver for the junior overall result at the Junior World Barefoot Championships which ran from March 10 to 16 in Mulwala, Australia.

Bodybuilding

Griffiths crowned Miss Universe

Bikini bodybuilding beauty, Christy Griffiths, was crowned the World Physique Federation’s (WPF) Miss Universe at the Mr and Mrs Universe pageant, held in Naples, Italy, on December 7.

Sensational Rademeyer returns with universal victory

Boksburg bikini bodybuilding sensation Cat Buys Rademeyer was crowned Miss Universe in Seoul, Korea on June 21, adding to her World Championship title she secured in Greece last October.

Wiehann walks away with Mr Universe crown

Bodybuilding revelation Wiehann Mentz was crowned the 2014 National Amateur Body Building World Fitness Federation (NABBA-WFF) Mr Universe champion at a glamorous event in Seoul, South Korea on June 21.

Boxing

Tommy too good for Grachev

Thomas “Tommy Gun” Oosthuizen was crowned champion of the vacant WBC International Title in his light-heavyweight debut after beating Denis Grachev in their 12-round main event fight at Emperors Palace on Saturday, November 15.

The win improved Oosthuizen’s professional record to 24-0-2, including 13 knock-outs, while Grachev dropped to 13-5-1 with eight knock-outs.

The clash generated a significant amount of hype stirred by Oosthuizen’s long-awaited return to the ring after being out for almost a year.

Liebenberg wins 12-round boxing war

Ryno Liebenberg outlasted Russian counterpart Denis Grachev in an epic battle for the WBC Light-heavyweight Silver Belt at Emperors Palace on August 9.

Volbrecht opens new boxing gym

Former South African boxer and current trainer Harold Volbrecht, opened his new Hammer Gym at the Nashua building in Boksburg on April 14.

Muller edges Shihepo in titanic battle

Johnny Muller defeated Wilbeforce Shihepo of Namibia via split-decision in a bloody epic clash for the vacant WBC Silver International light heavyweight title at Emperors Palace’s Theatre of Marcellus on March 1.

Cricket

Coulentianos leads historical Kempton win

CBC Old Boys’ Premier League XI maintained their perfect start to the new season with a vital four-wicket away win over defending champion Kempton Park on Sunday, October 12. Old Boys’ opening batsman Wesley Coulentianos scored his second century in as many weeks, with his 102 not-out, as he and his teammates downed another close rival in Kempton, which followed their win over Benoni Northerns in the opening week of the season.

CBC Boksburg u-13 cricket side crowned Easterns champions

The CBC Boksburg u-13A cricket team celebrated several significant wins culminating in them becoming the Easterns Schools cricket champions after beating Laerskool Rynfield by 68 runs in the November 6 final.

CBC star batsman Wesley Coulentianos hits three centuries in five weeks

Unbeaten 113 against Benoni Northerns on October 5. Unbeaten 102 against Kempton Park on October 12. A monstrous 127 against Springs Old Boys on November 2, which remains his highest score this season.

Cycling

Tour de France champion visits Jaguar East Rand

The cycling fraternity and East Rand residents alike were given a rare opportunity to meet 2013 Tour de France champion and Team Sky cyclist Chris Froome, on Saturday, February 8. Fans got a chance to meet their hero through a question and answers session, while they could also obtain his autograph. This meet-and-greet was organised by Jaguar East Rand as part of its Ride and Drive Jaguar Initiative.

Boksburg’s Fouche wins 2014 Dis-Chem Ride for Sight

Boksburg’s very own Herman Fouche (26), won the 26th edition of the Dis-Chem Ride for Sight cycle race, held at the Boksburg City Stadium on Sunday, February 16. The Bonitas cyclist crossed the line in 02:35:49 – an impressive six minutes faster than 2013 winner, Pieter Seyffert.

Karate

Team SA shines at Karate Africa Cup

Team South Africa, represented by the Goju Karate Academy (GKA) in Sunward Park, enhanced its reputation in world karate when it won eight medals at the 15th edition of the Union of African Karate Federation’s (UFAK) Africa Cup in Senegal between August 14 and 16.

Sensei Madgwick wins gold in Zambia

Sunward Park’s Goju Karate Academy master sensei Marius Madgwick flew the country’s flag high in Zambia after claiming gold at the African Zone 6 Championships.

Dan Triangle Karate Club duo receive national colours

Members of The Dan Triangle Karate Club, Christopher Anthony and Laura Beamish were awarded national colours for karate by Sascoc.

Karting

Naicker jets off to Italy for World Champs

Kashen Naicker from Boksburg convincingly won the karting finals to be crowned the South African Karting Champion at the Vereeniging National Karting Circuit on Saturday, September 27. He consequently headed for Verona in Italy on October 14, to compete in the World Rok Finals, which saw more than 25 countries participate in the karting jamboree.

Local karter ranked third in world

Boksburg karting revelation Kashen Naicker (15) ascended from his Junior Rok racing class to the more elite DD2 class, following an impressive outing at the World Rok Finals, in Italy, between October 22 and 25. Naicker was ranked third in the world, out of 96 drivers, following his three qualifying races. Italian duo Ciconini Dominico and Jean Luyet were ranked first and second, respectively.

SASCOC awards Kashen with SA Protea colours

Boksburg karting champion Kashen Naicker was awarded his Protea colours by SASCOC at a glittering “Night of Champions awards event hosted by Motorsport SA (MSA) at Emperors Palace on Sunday, December 7. The honour was in acknowledgement of Naicker’s SA Championships triumph and his participation in four international races this year. The 15-year-old racer was also officially crowned the SA Junior Rok karting champion by Motorsport SA on the night.

MMA

Potts signs for UFC

EFC Africa signs then heavyweight champion Ruan “Fangzz” Potts to USA-based UFC on a six-fight deal, early in the year. Fangzz became the first EFC fighter in history to sign for UFC.

Salute to the champion

EFC middleweight champion Garreth ‘Soldierboy’ McLellan signs for UFC on a six-fight contract, in the latter stages of the year. His UFC debut is scheduled for March this year.

Speechly grounds Fadipe

Adam “The Prodigy” Speechly executed a clinical ground performance to beat Henry “Herculeez” Fadipe for the welterweight championship at Carnival City, on August 7.

Rally

Montjoie tackles ‘Great Adventure’

Sick of the bleary South African winter, Richard Montjoie of Boksburg and his group of three friends headed off to the hot London summer during the latter part of this year to take part in the Mongol Rally. Marketed by the organisers as “The Greatest Adventure on the Planet”, the Rally saw over 250 teams make their way from London to Ulan Bator in Mongolia – a 15 000 km stretch across 21 countries.

Rugby

Boksburg Rugby Club make Cell C Community Cup debut

Boksburg Rugby Club was been officially named by SARU as one of the wild cards to play in the 2014 Cell C Community Cup. The PG Park outfit was drawn in Pool C amongst local rivals Brakpan, Blue Bulls, Roses United and BB Truck Noordelikes.

Community Cup: Brakpan versus Boksburg to be televised

The fierce local derby clash between the two Valke League foes was televised on SuperSport HD1 (channel 201 and/or 211 on DStv) on Thursday, March 20.

The Pool C encounter took centre stage at Brakpan’s Bosman Stadium.

Boksburg clinch memorable thriller against Brakpan

Kaufela Boksburg overturned a 16-point half-time deficit to edge local rivals G5 Metals Brakpan 34-33 in a dramatic Valke Peregrine League match at Prince George Park on May 31.

Soccer

Boksburg u-17 crowned ELFA Cup champs

Boksburg Football Club’s u-17 side beat bitter rivals Germiston in the final to be crowned ELFA Cup champions following a 3-2 cliff-hanger at the Germiston Stadium on September 21.

Boksburg FC says cheers to the season with two cups

The Boksburg Football Club picked up a cup double as four of its teams participated in the recent Eastern Gauteng Cup Finals Day in Germiston.

The tournament saw the Blues’ u-14 side win the Shield trophy while the u-17 side emerged victorious in the Easterns Cup.

Coerver Coaching SA StarMoves Centre opens

Coerver Coaching South Africa, together with Off the Wall Powerball, opened the StarMoves Centre at the East Rand Italian Club (ERIC) on June 7. At the centre, players aged between six and 18 are helped to sharpen their skills and football know-how.

Swimming

Soul Swimming win EGA champsSoul Swimming Club, based at Clearwater Estate, won the Eastern Gauteng Aquatic (EGA) Championship, which took place in Germiston, for the first time.

Youth Olympian eases to 200m breaststroke victory

South African Youth Olympian, Jarred Crous, cleared the pool for a comfortable win in his Men 18-and-over 200m breaststroke final qualification heat during the Gauteng Schools Swimming Trials held at the Boksburg North Indoor Swimming Pool on September 6.

Superbike racing

Harren claims first Monster triumph

Boksburg’s Brent Harren (20) scored his first win in the Monster Energy Super Series event at the Red Star Raceway in Delmas.

Water polo

Jacobs flies Boksburg flag in Russia

South African national water polo goalkeeper Anke Jacobs, flew the Boksburg flag high at the World Championships held in Russia from August 12 to 17. -@SabeloBoksburg