Astonish Malatjie and Gift Mashale from Makhwivirini Senior Secondary School were praised by a teacher, Tsakani Makhuba, saying she was proud to have been instrumental in their success. Makhuba called in the help of colleagues and friends to get them registered and ransport was provided by Pastor Jeffrey Ngobeni who gladly assisted the young runners.
“It would be a great to see more people entering marathons. I am happy with what the boys have achieved, especially since it is their first marathon and they had to wear running shoes, they are used to running barefoot.” She said Astonish will be representing the school at provincial level after he did well at district level at a meet held at Frans du Toit High School in Phalaborwa.
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“We as a community need to support this young man, he is proving that anything is possible,” he said. Their coach, Ike Mkansi, said
that their participation is a big step towards a career in athletics. “We need to make sure that they
reach their goals. As teachers, we must focus on all aspects of education to identify talent.
I am excited that my boys are doing well, it is great for us as a school,” he said. The boys said that they are very happy and proud with their performance. Astonish said it’s a dream come true for him. “It was intimidating to line up with so many people. I have been running since primary school and I will continue to do so.” Gift thanked everyone who contributed to them being able to enter the marathon.
“The marathon taught me to be persistent and not give up, it taught me patience and helped me to see that anything can be achieved if you put your mind to it.”
