Siphamandla Nyembe is flying the flag high abroad and is slowly making his name as an amazing athlete.
The 24-year-old runner from Dannhauser showcased his skills in Texas and brought back gold in the process. Siphamandla competed in three marathons in Texas, one in Austin, one in Houston and the other in San Antonio.
At the Austin Half Marathon, he was placed second. At the Woodland Marathon in Houston, Siphamandla battled the elements and finished fourth. His crowning achievement came at the Alamo 10 000 in San Antonio where he won the gold. Siphamandla has been invited to participate in more international marathons, thanks to his national ranking.
He has some of the fastest times when it comes to marathons in South Africa.But the journey to the top hasn’t been that easy. Siphamandla grew up in Nellyvalley, Dannhauser and attended Phungu Phungu Primary School.
Once he got to high school he started participating in track and field events and soon represented KZN and South Africa in events. His hardest race was inMauritus where he competed against Kenyan runners.
Looking towards the future, Siphamandla is hoping to improve his times, win more races and hopefully study further overseas. However, Dannhauser Deputy Mayor, Vincent Ndaba, is hoping to keep the local athlete on South African soil.
“If we want to invest in our talent, we need to nurture and support them now.
There’s no point in crying and saying we don’t have the talent if we don’t look after them,” he said.
Siphamandla thanked Cllr Ndaba and Thembilihle as well as his mum Lindiwe who have helped him get to where he is. If anyone would like to sponsor Siphamandla, he can be contacted on 078 664 1977.