Flawless Van Dyk and Madlabane win gold
This was Chelsea van Dyk's second nationals gold while Siyanda Madlabane won his first title after three attempts.
Despite being swallowed by the throngs of runners at the start of their races, there was no stopping Chelsea van Dyk and Siyanda Madlabane as the Northerns junior athletes coasted to victory in their categories at the SA Cross-Country Championships on September 7.
Their events started similarly as they were pushed to the middle by competitors coming from both sides, wrestling to be among the leaders. But as we have seen during the CGA season, such is the experience of the duo that they always find a way to get themselves out of these situations.
They both took control after the first loop and from there they dictated affairs and eventually clinched their age-category national titles.
Dominance
Van Dyk was relentless in the U13 girls’ 3km, taking the lead minutes into the race and upping and dictating the tempo of the race as she left the rest of the field choking on dust to secure her second national title in a PB of 10:07.
“It was harder than I thought it would be physically. But it was fun. I enjoyed it,” Van Dyk said.
Mamello Hankana of Athletics North Gauteng (AGN) finished 20 seconds later for the silver after crossing the line in 10:27. Athletics Mpumalanga (AMPU) athlete Zoë Morgado secured the bronze in 10:29.
After some shoving and pushing at the start, Madlabane took charge of the U13 boys’ 4km race after one km and tore through the two-lap course in 12:33, bursting clear of Athletics Central North West (ACNW)’s Katlego Songwe, to land his first national title, adding to the silver he got at last year’s nationals in Gqeberha.
Songwe grabbed the silver in 12:45 and Pule Shamase of Athletics Vaal Triangle (AVT) rounded up the podium in 12:51.
“It was tough out there. But I’m happy to win my first nationals. I worked hard all season. I’m grateful to my coach, Nkanyiso Mthembu and the parents for their support,” said Madlabane.
In his first-ever nationals, Bokamoso Nonyane finished second in the U10 boys’ 2km race. He crossed the line in 06:58, five seconds behind winner Eugene Saayman of Athletics South West Districts (ASWD), who won in 06:53.
Other results
In selected results, Northerns’ Alexia Visser fell one place outside the top three when she finished fourth in the U9 girls’ 2km race.
Dominique Broughton finished eighth in the U8 girls’ 1km and Jade Doran was 11th in the U15 girls’ 4km, while Kayla Botha and Carmen Kotze were 20th and 22nd in the U11 and U13 girls’ 3km events, respectively.
Bronwyn Nel of Benoni High Athletic Club (BHAC) was seventh in the junior women’s 6km race while teammate Kiana Pepler was 10th in the U17 girls’ 4km event. Kevin Hickley finished 12th in the junior men’s 8km.
These athletes were part of 395 runners that represented CGA at the nationals. The event, hosted by AVT at Izak Steyl Stadium in Vanderbijlpark, attracted over 4 100 athletes from across the country.
Also Read: Boksburg’s Coetzer eyes first cross-country nationals
Also Read: Venter shines at cross-country league event
