An abundance of talent was on display on Saturday, with primary school athletes from across South Africa turning out at the ASA Sub-Youth Inter-Provincial track and field meeting in Secunda, Mpumalanga.

The event featured athletes in the U7, U9, U11 and U13 age groups who participated in a wide range of disciplines.

Displaying tremendous potential, 16 athletes achieved the maximum 1000 points in the scoring charts.

Remarkably, in the U9 girls 600m event, the top five finishers earned 1000 points, led by Nicole Meyer who won gold for Athletics North West North (ANWN) in 1:50.67. Further back in the field, another 10 athletes in that event also bagged more than 900 points each.

The 200m flat sprint and 200m hurdles in the U13 boys division also produced notable results, with all three medallists in both disciplines dipping below the previous national records.

Showing real promise as they prepare to move up to high school level, seven U13 athletes set new SA bests.

Among the boys, Chibunna Ehirim of Central Gauteng Athletics (CGA) set new national marks in the 100m (11.15) and 200m (22.86) sprints and his provincial teammate Dawson Sambo broke the 800m record (2:06.04). In the 200m hurdles, Reuben Smit (ANWN) crossed the line in 26.10, while Jean-Jacques Ellis of Athletics Gauteng North (AGN) touched down at 6.46m in the long jump.

In U13 girls events, CGA sprinter Chane Fourie set a new record in the 200m (24.88) and equalled the 15 year-old mark of 12.20) in the 100m final. National bests were also achieved by Taylin de Jong (CGA) in the javelin throw (41.00m) and Renate van der Merwe, who stopped the clock at 7:36.52 in the 1500m walk in the colours of Athletics Central North West (ACNW).

In total, 11 of ASA's provincial members participated at the inter-provincial meeting.

The CGA team finished top of the table with 48 medals, including 17 golds, 15 silvers and 16 bronze.

"We congratulate all athletes and particularly those with outstanding performances. This
is where it all starts, a grassroot level that offers the young athletes a taste of high level competition," said James Moloi, the President of Athletics South Africa. "We are thrilled with the budding commitment and innocence of competition that we witnessed.

"We are also happy with the success of this event and participation. We need to work on improving the numbers next year to achieve full participation of our 17 ASA next year."

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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 World Athletics  and the Confederation of African Athletics.  The association was formed in 1995 and is based in Johannesburg. 

ENDS