Local athletes win four medals in African Games
MELVILLE – Athletes do their best during the African Games, winning our country four medals among them.
Local athletes competed in the African Games in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that took place from 4 to 19 September.
During the tournament, the competitors collectively brought home gold, two silvers and a bronze medals. University of Johannesburg high jumper, and Melville resident, Kabelo Kgosiemang’s 2.25m leap secured him first place for his home country, Botswana.
UJ’s gymnast Claudia Cummins and swimmer Kelly Gunnell won silver, while Jaco Engelbrecht from Randpark Ridge won a bronze medal in shot put.
UJ sports manager Francois Fouché said, “I understand that some of our athletes had to withdraw from their events for a variety of reasons but I believe we had the potential to bring more medals home.”
Fouché also said the IAAF World Champions and the African Games being held a couple of weeks apart could have been the cause for their poor performance. Tripple jumper Roger Haitengi came in fourth place with his 16.4m for Namibia, while Zinzi Chabangu took fifth place in the woman’s event with a 13m jump.
Fouché praised Chabangu for her efforts as a junior athlete competing on a senior level with other talented athletes.
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