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Hoërskool Linden’s Gené Coetzee took pride in representing her country, club, and school in the 1 500m and 3 000m track events at the International Tri Colour Games in Reggio Emilia, Italy.
Coetzee qualified for the event by competing in an invitational event held at the Germiston Stadium, where she represented her club, Fitness from Africa.
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First place finishers qualified to travel to the games in Italy.
There, the Grade 9 youngster took two gold medal spots after placing first in the 1 500m and 3 000m.
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When asked about her Italian experience, Coetzee said, “We flew from Joburg to Dubai, then to Italy. I really enjoyed travelling to Italy, and it was an amazing experience, and just the feeling of being there was very nice. My favourite part was tasting all the proper Italian food, like pizza bread and Italian croissants.
“I loved meeting and competing against other athletes from the Netherlands, Italy, China, the USA, and Czechoslovakia.”
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