The South African athletics team has returned home as African champions after dominating the medals table at the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) African Senior Championships in Douala, Cameroon.
After finishing second behind Kenya at the last two editions of the continental showpiece, the national team secured a total of 19 medals (including nine gold, four silver, and six bronze) to return to the top of the standings for the first time since South Africa hosted the event in Durban in 2016.
The nine athletes who emerged triumphant in their events were Miranda Coetzee (400 m), Rogail Joseph (400 m hurdles), teenager Ashley Erasmus (shot put), Jo-Ane van Dyk (javelin throw), Mire Reinstorf (pole vault), Cheswill Johnson (long jump), Brian Raats (high jump), Kyle Rademeyer (pole vault) and the mixed 4×400 m relay team.
The silver medallists included Marione Fourie (100 m hurdles), Mine de Klerk (shot put), Jana van Schalkwyk (javelin throw), and Victor Hogan (discus throw).
Rounding off the podium performances, Danielle Nolte (long jump), Shannon Verster (heptathlon), Collette Uys (shot put), Benjamin Richardson (100 m), Alan Cumming (hammer throw) and Wayne Snyman (20 km walk) all earned bronze medals.
Standout performances were produced by the 19-year-old Erasmus and the mixed 4×400 m relay team, who broke national records.
Erasmus led a South African sweep of the podium in the women’s shot put final, winning gold with a best throw of 18.17 m. She added 29 cm to the long-standing South African record of 17.88 m set by Drienkie van Wyk in Germiston in 2002.
The mixed 4×400 m relay team of Gardeo Isaacs, Shirley Nekhubui, Mthi Mthimkulu, and Miranda Coetzee raced to victory in the final in 3:13.12. They shattered the South African record of 3:14.97, which had been set by a different quartet at the Athletics South Africa (ASA) Grand Prix meeting in Johannesburg earlier this season.
Coetzee also shone in the women’s 400 m sprint, retaining the African title she won in Mauritius two years ago by completing the one-lap race in 51.16 seconds.
In the semifinals, she went even quicker, winning her race in 50.90 and dipping under the qualifying standard of 50.95 for the Olympic Games in Paris in August.
“Our soldiers have fulfilled the mandate given to them at this championship and have reclaimed the African crown after wrestling it from Kenya,” said an excited James Moloi, president of the ASA.
“The beauty of it all is that this mega achievement comes at the time when the whole rainbow nation needs such inspirational stories. This comes also at a time when South Africa needed a morale booster ahead of the Olympic Games in Paris, France, next month under Team South Africa, led by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc), our national Olympic mother body.
“Our entire athletics family is grateful to all athletes, coaches, managers, medical team and all other support staff. We thank all athletes who continue to seek top performances despite the dire challenges they all had to endure during the competition.
“We thank them for not allowing themselves to be distracted from the task of representing South Africa, and fought for the honour of beating the rest of the continent. We thank provinces and the various sponsors at the different levels of the season for making this all possible.
“We are now keeping our fingers crossed that World Athletics will accept this entire competition as legitimate so that deserving athletes throughout Africa, including ours can be admitted to the Olympics.”
