Pentathlon is the name of the game
RANDBURG – Hoërskool Randburg athlete Ancke Botha is one of the top pentathlon athletes in Joburg.
It takes a special athlete to perform well in a pentathlon.
And that is what makes Hoërskool Randburg athlete and victrix ludorum holder at the school, Ancke Botha one of a kind.
She participated in her first athletics event when she was nine-years-old.
Ancke, who turns 15 this year, said she knew then that it was something she wanted to excel at, and 2015 is her sixth year of playing the sport.
Her father Fred said she takes part in five events (pentathlon) and this is also where it gets a bit tricky.
“The five events are high-jump, long jump, 90m hurdles, shot put and 800m. She has to take part in all five events on one day and usually she moves around between them and she finishes off with the tricky 800m.”
Points are awarded for each event and the athlete with the highest points wins.
“Its about doing your best at every event, but the thing is each and every athlete has one event that they shine in and shot put is something that Ancke does extremely well in,” Fred said.
According to Ancke, its all about practising for the various events and she practises every day with her father as coach.
“He’s not always nice and he pushes me to perform at my best and it makes a big difference in the way I perform at championships,” said Ancke.
At the Central Gauteng Athletics Championships, which took place on 14 and 15 March, she took first place in javelin with a distance of 36m and she took second place for shot put and broke the previous record when she threw 12.82m.
“The next big championships is the South African Champs that will take place on 18 April. It’s something that Ancke prepares very hard for and we hope that she performs at her best,” concluded Fred.
