Bryanston’s Joshua does it again

Bryanston’s biathlon boy has outdone himself yet again.

Joshua Eccles (11) brought home both titles of South African champion for tetrathlon, as well as laser-run at the 2019 South African Modern Pentathlon and Laser-run Championships held in Pretoria.

The level of competition proved high this year as previous and reigning world champions, as well as Olympians in various disciplines took part.

Modern pentathlon is an Olympic sport comprising swimming, fencing, showjumping, running and shooting, and offers the ultimate test of an athlete’s fitness, courage and skill.

Tetrathlon is the format of the sport for people under the age of 18.

Joshua, a Grade 6 learner at St Stithians College, demonstrated skill and fitness, and especially courage when he served a 10-second penalty at the shooting station during his laser-run race, and still thundered through the finish line for a win.

A newcomer to the pentathlon (tetrathlon in his case) overall discipline, Joshua’s beat the competition in the multi-event by tallying top of the points table in fencing and later outrunning the other competitors.

Already this year Joshua raked in Gauteng Provincial Champion titles for laser-run, biathle, triathle, tetrathlon and placed third in Gauteng for long jump.

Last year, Joshua broke the U11 South African record in biathlon which he still holds.

He also won the South African Biathlon Championship title.

Gauteng Modern Pentathlon Association has proposed that Joshua be considererd for inclusion in the South African Modern Pentathlon Association Olympic development team to take part in the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, in 2022.