Nelson Mandela University student athlete Ischke Senekal has been included in the African team which will compete in the Continental Cup in the Czech Republic on the 8th and 9th of September.
The 25 year-old Bestmed Madibaz Athletics Club athlete owes her selection to a phenomenal performance on Sunday when she won the shotput gold medal at the African Athletics Championships in Asaba, Nigeria with an impressive throw of 17.24 metres.
Two days earlier, she served notice of things to come by grabbing the bronze medal in the discus.
Senekal, who qualified for the Commonwealth Games earlier this year but was not included in the South African squad, said it was extremely satisfying to return with the gold medal. "I know what I can do and this was just another opportunity to prove that I can compete on the big stage," she said.
Heading into the tournament, Senekal said she was definitely focused on earning spots on the podium. "I wasn't really sure what medals I could achieve, but early on in the shotput I could see my chances of getting the gold were fairly good so I really worked hard on that one. Having finished in the top two at the African Championships earned me selection for the Continental Cup and I'm really looking forward to competing on a bigger stage. There will definitely be some very tough competition at that meeting in the Czech Republic."
The Continental Cup is the only athletics meeting where the teams compete as continents, rather than individual countries, meaning the standard is extremely high. Senekal says she's really looking forward to the challenge after another outstanding year in which she achieved a personal best in the shotput event. This came at the University Sport South Africa meeting at Sasolburg in Gauteng, where she threw a distance of 17.56m.
"It started with the nationals where I won the shotput and discus titles for the third year in a row," said Senekal. "Then came USSA with my personal best, followed by the World Cup in London where I ended fourth in the shotput and seventh in the discus against some of the best athletes in the world. And just when I think my season is over I make the African team for the Continental Cup."
Bestmed Madibaz athletics manager Nellis Bothma said Senekal's achievements were just reward for all the effort she had put in. "The more opportunities she gets to compete at a higher level the better she will become because it provides great motivation," he said. "We are also proud of sprinter Luxolo Adams, who continues to show his prowess at the end of a very long season."
Adams came home from the African Championships with a bronze medal in the 200m in 20.60 sec, missing out on silver by less than 100th of a second. The race was won by compatriot Ncincilili Titi in 20.46.
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