The Curro Podium South Meet 2024
19 October 2024The Curro Podium South Meet at Dal Josaphat Stadium in Paarl on 19 October 2024 brought together roughly 30 schools from the Western and Southern Cape in a day filled with record-breaking performances and unforgettable athletic achievements. With no less than 15 new meeting records, the event underscored the importance of creating world-class opportunities for all learners.
Travelling over 350km from George, Höerskool Outeniqua dominated the meet, winning both the Best Boys Team and Best Combined Team trophies. Outeniqua athletes, including stars like Jayden Fourie, Walter van Rensburg, and Thinus Erasmus, showcased their talents in events ranging from long jump to shot put and distance running. Outeniqua claimed five of the eight available individual trophies, making them the standout school of the day.
Standout performances
One of the meet’s top highlights was the performance of Michaela Spocter from Meridian Pinehurst, who won the Girls U17 High Jump with a personal best and Curro Podium record of 1.81m, earning an impressive 980 ASA points. Michaela has had an outstanding year, also winning gold in the high jump at the South African High School Nationals Track and Field Championship earlier in 2024.
Michaela Spocter: Girls U17 High Jump champion, personal best and Curro Podium record of 1.81m.
In the boys' section, Jayden Fourie soared to a distance of 7.22m to win the Boys U15 Long Jump, while Walter van Rensburg collected a maximum of 1000 points in the Boys U17 Shotput. Thinus Erasmus delivered a stunning performance, winning the Boys U17 3000m in 8:44.42 and dominating the 1500m with a time of 3:58.47, finishing more than 14 seconds ahead of the runner-up.
Left - Thinus Erasmus: Boys U17 3000m winner (8:44.42), 1500m champion (3:58.47).
Left - Walter van Rensburg: Dominated the Boys U17 Shotput event, scoring an impressive 1000 points.
‘Getting this trophy is really something special for me because I haven’t won something like this before,’ said Thinus. ‘Coming out of South Western Districts, we don’t really have such high-calibre competitions, so coming to the Curro Podium South meet and getting such good competition for the first time since the SA Championships is amazing. Curro is doing a wonderful job.’
Recognising athletic talent and opportunity
Jacques Wolfaardt, tasked with managing the successful athletics programme at Höerskool Outeniqua, praised the event’s organisers for their role in supporting athletics in a region where team sports often overshadow individual sports. ‘I want to thank Curro because this is a special occasion for us to win five of the eight individual trophies. Athletics is losing popularity due to the rise of team sports like rugby, but competitions like these are essential for continuing to produce top athletes,’ said Jacques.
Echoing this sentiment, Cindy van der Merwe, Curro Sport Portfolio Manager, emphasised Curro’s commitment to raising the standard of athletics in South Africa: ‘Curro believes that every child matters. When we started with Podium, our goal was to create a platform that would help produce future champions. Athletes like Bayanda Walaza and Matodzi Ndou have already broken national and world records, and it’s about creating more opportunities like this to prepare our athletes for even higher levels of competition.’
Team winners
- Best girls team
- 1st: Paarl Girls High School
- 2nd: Höer Meisiesskool Bloemhof
- 3rd: La Rochelle Girls High School
- Best boys team
- 1st: Höerskool Outeniqua
- 2nd: Stellenbosch High School
- 3rd: Paarl Boys High School
- Best combined team
- 1st: Höerskool Outeniqua
- 2nd: Paarl Gimnasium
- 3rd: Stellenberg High School
Individual trophy winners
- Best junior boy field athlete: Zaun Marthinus (Stellenbosch High School) – Discus: 1000 ASA points, Javelin: 890 ASA points
- Best junior girl field athlete: Mike Scholtz (Höerskool Outeniqua) – Discus: 883 ASA points, Shotput: 855 ASA points
- Best junior boy track athlete: Ray-Jordan Schoeman (Höerskool Outeniqua) – 100mH: 954 ASA points, 300mH: 884 ASA points
- Best junior girl track athlete: Enya Binneman (La Rochelle Girls High School) – 400m: 953 ASA points, 200m: 940 ASA points
- Best senior boy field athlete: Walter van Rensburg (Höerskool Outeniqua) – Shotput: 1000 ASA points, Discus: 860 ASA points
- Best senior girl field athlete: Mieke Coetzee (Höerskool Outeniqua) – Discus: 962 ASA points, Shotput: 912 ASA points
- Best senior boy track athlete: Thinus Erasmus (Höerskool Outeniqua) – 3000m: 917 ASA points, 1500m: 915 ASA points
- Best senior girl track athlete: Kylie Basson (La Rochelle Girls High School) – 200m: 923 ASA points, 100mH: 864 ASA points
With both the Curro North and South Podium Meets completed, qualifying teams are now preparing for the Curro Podium Grand Finale in Pretoria, set to take place on 8 February 2025.