Josh Steytler, who won gold at the recent 2019 South African and African Duathlon Championships held in Cape Town, has just signed a 12-month contract to run for Hillcrest Villages Athletic Club’s Elite running team.
The Grade 11 learner from Kearsney College will represent HVAC in the Junior Men’s category at running events until mid-2020.
Josh has been actively involved in competitive sports from a young age, playing club rugby (Hillcrest Villages Rugby Club) and club soccer (Westville Soccer Club) from the age of seven, and made the KZN SAFU soccer team at 12, when they won the league championships.
His passion for road running saw him win the U19 Junior Men’s category at the Forest Hills Spar 10km road race last month in a time of 35:03. He finished 11th overall.
But Triathlons are his first love, so Josh stopped playing club rugby and soccer this year, in order to compete seriously in Triathlons and Duathlons.
Josh’s dream is to compete in Triathlon at the Olympic Games. Last year he was awarded full provincial colours in both Duathlon and Triathlon and was the HVAC Junior Runner of the Year. Earlier this year he won silver at the SA and Africa Triathlon Champs in Durban, before winning gold at the SA and Africa Duathlon Champs in Cape Town.
At theseDuathlon champs in Cape Town, Josh competed in the sprint class – a 5km run, a 20km cycle and a final 2.5km run which he did in 16:47, 31:06 and 09:26 respectively, recording the fastest 5km run time in the U17 and U19 male categories.
