This year’s athletics calendar has been filled to the brim with amazing talent.
One young athlete making his mark on the sport is Germiston’s Nikolas Marich (18), who runs for the UJ Athletics Club.
He was named the 2016 Central Gauteng Athletics (CGA) junior and senior champion in the 400m sprint and more recently became the u-20 South African National Champion after a personal best time of 46.90 seconds in the same discipline.
This impressive time allowed Marich, who is coached by JP van der Merwe, to qualify for the IAAF u-20 World Championships to be held in Poland in July 2016.
He has previously represented South Africa at the IAAF Youth u-18 World Championships which were held in Colombia last year.
The young athlete reached the semi-finals in the 400m sprint during the competition and earned a silver medal in the 4x400m relay.
Although he is only 18, Marich will be competing against senior international men at the SA Senior Championships in Stellenbosch to be held from April 15 to 16.
Marich has no plans to slow down and hopes to perform well at the Africa Junior Championships in Zambia in June, which will place him in good standing for the IAAF u-20 World Championships in July.
His future plans include competing in the Diamond League, as well as the 2020 Olympics.
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