High School athletics superstars are nursing sore legs and achy arms this week , after treating spectators to an enthralling inaugural Curro Podium Athletics Meeting at Pilditch Stadium in Pretoria, over the weekend.
More than 1500 of the most talented and aspiring young athletes from 45 schools across the country and even as far as Namibia descended on an adrenaline fuelled stadium, for what has been widely dubbed to be the most prestigious High School athletics event in Southern Africa.
Athletes from Menlopark High School in Pretoria brought their A game, outperforming and outranking in the boys, girls, and mixed team categories to come out on top overall. Helpmekaar Kollege in Braamfontein came in a close second and Paarl Gimnasium rounded up the top three.
“Congratulations to all the aspiring young sporting talents who took part in the first Curro Podium Athletics Meeting. I am especially proud of Curro Hazeldean boys’ team for finishing in fourth place – what an exceptional achievement. Successfully putting on an event of this scale and calibre is testament to Curro’s passion and commitment to grow and develop emerging sporting talent within South Africa. We have been blown away by the fantastic turnout and support over the weekend. It just shows how important the athletic community views events such as this inaugural meeting,” comments Pierre le Roux, Executive Head at Curro Hazeldean, who hosted the event on behalf of Curro Holdings.
Deserving of a special mention is Marike Weitz, a learner from Curro Windhoek Gymnasium who outshone competitors in the junior discus and shotput heats. She, alongside the following individual Junior and Senior track and field trophy winners, scored excellently on the ASA points system with some even achieving the maximum of 1000 points.
|
Athlete |
Competition |
School |
Place |
ASA Points |
|
Chris Swanepoel |
Junior field (boys) | Menlopark High School |
Discus
|
972
|
|
Marike Weitz |
Junior field (girls) | Curro Windhoek Gymnasium High School |
Discus
|
950
|
|
Phenyo Miyen |
Junior track (boys) | Tuks Sports School | 100m Hurdles
|
936
|
|
Chemene Mentz |
Junior track (girls) | Helpmekaar Kollege |
3000m
|
981
|
|
Hencu Lamberts |
Senior field (boys) | Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool | Discus (third) | 1000 |
|
Alicia Khunou |
Senior field (girls) | Menlopark High School |
Discus & Shotput
|
1000
|
|
Naheem Jack |
Senior track (boys) | Paarl Boys High School |
110m Hurdles
|
984 |
|
Coleen Scheepers |
Senior track (girls) | Menlopark High School |
200m |
989 |
The Curro Podium Athletics Meeting has been approved by Athletics SA (ASA) and is sanctioned by Gauteng North Athletics (GNA) and supported by Tshwane University of Technology (TUT).
