Sprint sensation Viwe Jingqi ended a ground-breaking week with another spectacular performance, and Ashley Erasmus shone in the field, with both athletes delivering record-breaking results on the third and final day of the ASA National U16, U18 and U20 Track And Field Championships at NWU McArthur Athletics Stadium in Potchefstroom on Saturday.

Jingqi, who shattered the SA U18 (youth) record three times on Thursday with her best being 11.22, scorched home in 23.03* in the U20 (junior) 200m final on Saturday to break one of the longest standing records in the sport. The 17 year-old athlete ripped 0.27 off the national youth mark of 23.30 which had been set by Evette de Klerk in Tshwane in April 1982.

Behind, Jingqi's Athletics Gauteng North (AGN) teammate, Precious Molepo did well to grab the 200m silver medal in 23.97.

Erasmus, meanwhile, was on fire, winning double gold in the U18 girls shot put and discus throw final.
The 16 year-old athlete from Mpumalanga landed the shot at 18.15m*, nearly three metres clear of her nearest opponent, as she obliterated the SA youth record of 17.52m which was set by Lezaan Jordaan in Germiston in April 2012. Erasmus also took the top step on the podium in the U18 girls discus, producing a personal best of 51.77m.

Sending the discus sailing six metres further than anyone else in the field, her winning effort was just 33 centimetres short of Simone du Toit's national youth best (52.10m) which has stood for 17 years.

After winning the U18 Girls 400m final earlier in the day, Molepo, who finished fifth in the 400m final at last year's U20 World Athletics Championships in Nairobi at the age of 16, cemented her status as one of the country's most promising athletes, coasting to the national youth one-lap title in 53.70.

In the U20 men's 200m final, Benjamin Richardson (AGN) also wrapped up an impressive sprint double, winning gold in the half-lap final in 20.75, adding to the 100m title he won earlier in the week. Neo Mosebi of KwaZulu-Natal put up another fight, but he settled for the silver medal again in 20.95, with Lucky Molenyane grabbing bronze for Athletics Free State (AFS) in 21.02.

Among the other highlights on the final day of competition, Lythe Pillay successfully defended his South African U20 400m title, winning the junior men's one-lap final in 46.58.

National senior 1 500m champion Danielle Verster added the U20 women's 800m crown to the junior 1 500m title she won the day before, taking the two-lap race in 2:09.27.

Athletics Gauteng North finished top of the table at the three-day national championships, raking in a total of 116 medals (46 golds, 43 silver and 27 bronze) across all three age groups.

Central Gauteng Athletics finished second with 53 medals (17 gold, 15 silver and 21 bronze), and Athletics Free State ended third among the 17 competing provinces with a total of 37 medals (13 gold, 8 silver and 16 bronze).

“This has been an absolutely successful championship. It was amazing! Not even the rain on the last day could dampen the determination of the athletes who were really out to make it all special. It’s a pity that the wet weather affected most from breaking records but we take pride that national records were achieved each day.

“We came to this championship with high expectations on performance and that is what was achieved. We are proud of all our 17 provinces, athletes, coaches, the host province, the Municipality of Potchefstroom and all others who made this event a success,” said James Moloi, the President of ASA.

* Record is subject to standard ratification procedures