The 2018 Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast has delivered its fair share of golden moments for South Africa over the past few days.
These games take place every four years and are currently taking place from 4 to 15 April on the sunny east coast of Australia.
Henri Schoeman won the first gold medal for our country with gold in the men’s triathlon on the opening day. Chad le Clos followed that up with brilliant gold medals in the pool, continuing his customary dominance at the Commonwealth Games. Further highs include Tatjana Schoenmaker’s gold in the women’s 200-metre breaststroke.
Many of these SA athletes are also tied to the sporting city of excellence, Potchefstroom. One such athlete is the NWU’s Tshepang Makhethe, who achieved a commendable 9th place with a throw of 67.99 metres in the final of the men’s hammer throw. These were his first Commonwealth Games.
‘Thank you, Team South Africa, for the bag of experience. I will be making it big in the coming years,’ posted Makhethe on his Facebook page.
Sigi Burger is another NWU star at the Commonwealth Games. She joined the SA National team at short notice after the regular starter, Lenize Potgieter’s injury on the eve of the Games. Burger shone in the Proteas’ opening loss to Jamaica hitting 15 points under pressure situations.
Another well-known Potchefstroomer in lawn bowls circles, Pierre Breitenbach, wore his national colours with pride in the men’s pairs event this past weekend. Together with Jason Evans, he made it to the quarter-finals with wins against Wales, Northern Ireland, Jamaica and Isle of Man. They then proceeded to lose a closely-fought battle in the quarters against Cook Islands by 15-14.
