Hard work and dedication paid off for the young men of the U20 South African Athletics team.
Sihle Mahlangu, Bryan Katoo, Njabulo Mbatha and Udeme Okon made South Africans extremely proud when they won silver in the men’s 4x400m relay at the World Athletics U20 Championships.
Sihle, a matric learner at Potchefstroom Gimnasium, says he is very proud of the team.
“The goal was to beat the race favourites (USA) and win gold with a national record, but I am still more than happy to receive a silver medal!”
He was born in Wolmaransstad, but moved to Potchefstroom in 2022 in the beginning of grade 10. He started as a high jumper when he was just 10 years old.
“I won my first silver national medal for U13 in 2019 and went on to win two silver medals for High Jump and Triple Jump U15 in 2021. I then got Jumper’s Knee that went chronic and I was forced to leave jumping in 2022 in my first year at Gimmies. My coaches and I then decided to convert to sprints at the end of that year. We only realised in 2023 that I am fast and everything started going forward from there.”
Sihle trains five days a week and only rests on Wednesdays and Sundays. His favourite flavour of ice cream is caramel and when asked about what food he likes the most, he had an interesting answer. It seems his mother is a phenomenal cook.
“Honestly, my favourite meal is anything my mom makes.”
An interesting fact about Sihle is that he is half Ndebele, half Tsonga.
“I grew up in a Tswana community, attended Afrikaans schools since grade R and speak English a majority of the time.”
The championships was his first time visiting Peru and he really enjoyed the experience.
“The experience was great! The aesthetics of the country is beautiful and the people are so friendly! I needed some time to get used the food, but when going out to buy food a lot of people got excited to see us and would ask for pictures.”
He is not shy about his plans for the future and has big hopes and dreams.
“In the long run, my biggest dream is to become a consistent Olympian while thriving in the business and leadership world.”
