Five national records fell on Friday, with youth and junior athletes delivering in style on Day 2 of the ASA Age Group Championships at Germiston Stadium.
In the Under-20 women's 100m hurdles final, Tumi Ramokgopa won gold for Athletics Gauteng North (AGN) in 12.93. She sliced 0.22 off her own South African junior mark of 13.15, which she set in Potchefstroom in September last year.
"It really means a lot to me. This is my introduction to the world, so I'm really happy," Ramokgopa said afterwards.
In the youth girls' 100m hurdles contest, Janelle Kirkpatrick led an AGN sweep of the podium in 12.96, holding off a challenge from teammate Megan Maree, who put up a fight to finish second in 13.07. Kirkpatrick broke the national mark of 13.02, which was set by Megan Nieman in Tshwane in February.
Nieman, who was disqualified for a false start during the heats in Germiston and missed out on the final, will be looking to bounce back by securing the title in the U18 girls' 400m hurdles final on the third and final day of competition on Saturday.
BOSCH AND LOGGENBERG SHINE
Another hurdler, Enrique Bosch, was superb in the U18 boys' 110m final over the barriers. Bosch rocketed over the line in 12.92 in the colours of Central Gauteng Athletics (CGA), chopping 0.06 off the SA youth 110m hurdles record of 12.98 set by Matodzi Ndou in Tshwane in September 2024. He climbed to second place in the global all-time rankings, completing the race just 0.05 outside the world youth record (12.87) held by Australian athlete Sasha Zoya.
"This really means the world to me. It's a dream come true... and I am so thankful for my support system. I really wouldn't be here if it wasn't for them," Bosch said.
In the flat 400m sprint, Christi Loggenberg secured gold in 52.33, leading another AGN podium sweep in the U18 girls event.
Loggenberg shattered the national youth record of 52.84, which was set by Precious Molepo in Germiston in April 2022.
"The start was really good, I would say, and I felt fine in the back straight, and then at the end I really pushed through," Loggenberg said, recalling how the race unfolded. "It feels amazing to have broken the record. I really can't believe this."
Closing out the second day of action at the national age group championships, the Boland team stormed around the track to win the U18 boys 4x100m relay final in 40.71, also achieving a new national mark.
The quartet consisted of Lezario Meyer, Micah Africa, Mitchell Maarman and Quade Matjan.