By Adnaan Mohamed
Stellenbosch’s Coetzenberg Stadium played host to a rain-soaked finale at the 2026 ASA Senior Track and Field Championships, where several of the country’s leading athletes delivered composed performances in testing conditions.
Among the standout winners were long jumper Luvo Manyonga who after seven years in the wilderness soared to 8.04m to claim gold on home soil. Gift Leotlela, Lythe Pillay, Rogail Joseph, Sinesipho Dambile and Tayla Kavanagh, amongst others all secured national titles in challenging weather conditions.
Leotlela successfully defended his men’s 100m crown, edging Benjamin Richardson in a photo finish, while Dambile added another chapter to his growing reputation in the 200m.
Dambile clocked 20.02 seconds to claim his third national title in the half-lap sprint, having also won in 2022 and 2025. After crossing the line, he raised three fingers on each hand in acknowledgement of his achievement.
“It is very special man, I have to win it back-to-back to back to back,” Dambile said.
“I’ve seen the consistency of 400m when Wayde was there, I saw the consistency of Akani in the 100m and I’ve actually never seen in the 200m someone being that consistent. I wanted to be that guy and I’m definitely working towards that.”
He finished ahead of 18-year-old Naeem Jack, who took second in 20.34, while Mihlali Xotyeni was third in 20.62.
In the men’s 400m, Pillay delivered a controlled run from lane six to secure gold in 45.22. With his main challengers on the inside lanes, he executed a measured race plan to stay clear of the field.
“The plan was just to execute,” Pillay said.
“I knew that Leendert and Udeme were the two on my inside lane, so I wouldn’t be able to gauge them until either it was too late to the finish or they caught me early on. My plan was just run a bold race, run strong. I know where my strengths are this season and just to bear out the weather.”
Bradley Maponyane finished second in 45.77, with Udeme Okon third in 46.02 and Leendert Koekemoer fourth in 46.52. Okon’s meeting ended on a concerning note later in the 4x400m relay when he appeared to suffer a hamstring injury on the final bend and fell after handing over the baton.
Wernich van Rensburg won the men’s 400m hurdles in 50.09, while Joseph took the women’s title in 55.94.
In the women’s 400m, Marlie Viljoen secured her first national title in 51.72 after a delayed start. Jada van Staden and Isabella Gunter completed the podium.
“Today was only about running for a gold medal, I wasn’t looking for a time. I’m actually happy with the time in the conditions, but today was only about getting the gold medal,” Viljoen said.
Kayla la Grange won the women’s 200m in 23.37, finishing ahead of Anastaysha George and Rume Burger, while Joviale Mbisha defended her national title in the women’s 100m.
The women’s 1500m provided one of the more competitive races of the afternoon. Karabo More surged late to win in 4:11.54, denying Prudence Sekgodiso a double after her earlier victory in the 800m. Sekgodiso finished second in 4:14.38, with Danielle Verster third in 4:16.86.
Denmar Jacobs claimed his first national title in the men’s 110m hurdles in 13.47, narrowly beating Mondray Barnard, while veteran Antonio Alkana placed third.
Marione Fourie won the women’s 100m hurdles in 12.69 despite a slightly slow start.
“I’m really happy with the time, I thought it would be slower. I didn’t know I can run a 12.69 in these conditions, it just means that there’s a next level coming up and I hope that I can achieve that,” Fourie said.
In the field events, Leandri Holtzhausen produced one of the standout performances with a winning hammer throw of 67.70m. Colette Uys secured gold in the discus with a throw of 57.86m and added silver in the hammer (63.53m), while Anje Holtzhausen took bronze in the hammer with 50.93m.
Zinzi Xulu won the women’s triple jump with a best attempt of 12.90m.
Jana van Schalkwyk claimed the javelin title with a throw of 53.12m, while Danielle Nolte won the long jump with 6.49m.
On the track, Edmund du Plessis defended his 800m title in 1:46.63, and Siboniso Soldaka took top honours in the 3 000m steeplechase.
Despite the persistent rain, the championships concluded with a series of measured performances across track and field, as athletes adapted to the conditions to secure national titles.
