From the start of the 2021 track season, it was clear that it would be a year with many hurdles to cross to get to the top. The primary school athletics season, which usually ends in the first quarter of the year, was cut short when South Africa went into another Covid lockdown.
The athletes were left hanging at their peak with nothing but the hope of completing the season later.
Zuan van Riet, coached by Chanel Gerber and running in the colours of Parys Primary School, managed to maintain a high level of performance throughout the season. When it was announced in August, nearly six months later, that Athletics Free State would proceed with the 2021 AFS primary schools provincial championships, Zuan was ready to take on the challenge.
On Saturday, 16 October, Zuan stepped onto the track in Bloemfontein to compete in his seventh event for the season to compete against the best u.11 70 m hurdlers the Free State has to offer. Zuan crossed the finish line in 11.63 seconds, earning him a very close second place and a second-best personal time in this discipline.
Pending the official announcement of the interprovincial team on Wednesday, 20 October, Zuan will now get to represent Free State and compete at the interprovincial championships in Bloemfontein on 13 November and again in Germiston on 27 November 2021.
