Establishing his place among the country’s most promising young Track & Field stars, Kyle Rademeyer had the crowd on its feet on Friday (29 March 2019) as he shattered the national youth pole vault record on day two of the Twizza ASA U18 and U20 Track & Field Championships at the Dal Josaphat Athletics Stadium in Paarl.
Turning out for the host province, Boland Athletics, Rademeyer cleared 5.30 metres*, adding eight centimetres to the previous SA mark of 5.22m which had been set by Valco van Wyk at the same venue in December 2017.
“I wasn’t really expecting to get that height. I struggled to sleep last night because of the adrenaline ahead of today’s competition and I was a little tired,” Rademeyer said.
“My goal for this year is 5.50m, so I hope to achieve that by the end of the year and then I’ll just see where my path takes me.”
Youth Olympics bronze medallist Dane Roets was in superb form for the Central Gauteng Athletics (CGA) team.
Roets produced a 17.04m heave with her first attempt in the qualifying round of the U-18 girls’ shot put, progressing as the favourite for Saturday’s final after falling just 48 centimetres (0.48m) short of the SA record, and she returned to the field to win gold in the U-18 girls’ discus throw final with a 46.18m heave.
On the track, Rikus van Niekerk of Athletics Gauteng North (AGN) delivered perhaps the most thrilling performance of the day in the junior men’s 5 000m race.
After slipping off the pace, with a three-man lead group breaking away, Van Niekerk launched a spectacular sprint on the final lap and chased them down on the back straight, bursting past to take the win in 14:50.59.
Cwenga Nose of Athletics Transkei, who won the 10 000m title the day before, held on to take second place in 14:51.34.
Closing out the penultimate day of competition, there were some quick times in the high hurdles finals.
Reynardt Strauss stormed across the line in 13.58 seconds, just 0.09 outside Mpho Tladi’s national record, as he led a clean sweep for AGN in the junior men’s 110m hurdles.
Another AGN athlete, Michael Schoeman, took the youth boys’ 110m hurdles title in 13.54 and Kayla van den Bergh (Athletics Central North West) earned gold in the youth girls’ 100m hurdles in 13.56.
The programme on the third day of competition at the Twizza ASA U18 and U20 Track & Field Championships will get under way at 7am on Saturday.
EVENT INFORMATION: Twizza ASA U18 and U20 Track & Field Championships
| Date: | Thursday, 28 March 2019 – Saturday, 30 March 2019 |
| Venue: | Dal Josaphat Stadium (Paarl) |
| Time: | · Morning session will start at 07:00.
· Afternoon sessions will begin at 15:00. The full programme of events is available on the ASA website. |
| Entry Fee: | FREE for competing athletes |
| Events: | Hurdles, Shot Put, Pole Vault, Javelin Throw, High Jump, Long Jump, Hammer Throw, Triple Jump, Decathlon, 1500m, 100m, 200m, 400m, 5000m, 10000m, 800m, 3000m Steeple Chase, 20km Walk, 4x 100m Relay and 4x 400m Relay. |
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Website: www.asajuniors.co.za (for programme/team lists/draws / start lists/results) / www.athletics.org.za
About Twizza:
A proudly South African carbonated soft drink, Twizza was created in 2003. We pride ourselves on providing the consumer with an authentic taste experience that rivals the global brands.
About Athletics South Africa:
Athletics South Africa (ASA) is the national governing body for the sport of athletics (including Track and Field, Cross Country, Road Running and Race Walking) in South Africa, is a member of the IAAF and the Confederation of African Athletics. The association is based in Johannesburg.
ENDS