Helpmekaar Kollege’s Jan-Hendrik Heymans secured South Africa’s first gold medal on Friday at the u20 World Championship in Oregon, USA. Heymans produced a throw of 80.50 metres to secure gold, which was also a world lead for 2026.
South Africa has a proud record in the javelin at the u20 World Championships, as Marius Corbett won gold in 1994 with a distance of 77.98m.
Corbett’s gold was the first of four South African gold medals in the event, as Hardus Pienaar (2000, 78.11m) and Robert Oosthuizen (2006, 83.07m) were also crowned world champions.
The performances of Corbett, Pienaar, and Oosthuizen remain among the Top 10 performances by South African u20 athletes in the event.
Heymans’ effort of 80.50m puts him third on the all-time list for South Africans in the u20 age group.
Hoërskool Klerksdorp’s Marques Olivier also competed in the final round in Eugene and finished in seventh position after producing a best effort of 70.94 meters.
Leendert Koekemoer, who matriculated at Helpmekaar Kollege last year, secured bronze in the 400m sprint. He came close to bettering his South African Junior record of 44.94 seconds with a time of 44.96 seconds in the final.
The gold medal was won by Jayden Deleon of the USA in a time of 44.47 seconds, which bettered the championship record. One of the favourites to bag gold, Quincy Wilson (44.62), ran a season’s best to take the silver medal.
Another South African, Krijn Romijn, a former learner from Hoërskool Ermelo, finished seventh in the final in a time of 46.16 seconds.
Tumi Ramokgopa, a former learner from Prestige College, won her heat in the 100m hurdles in 13.16 seconds to secure her place in the semi-finals. In the semi-finals, she also won her heat in 13.02 seconds to advance to the finals.
Menlopark’s Megan Niemann also qualified for the next round with a time of 13.52 seconds after finishing third in her heat. Niemann, unfortunately, didn’t qualify for the final with her time of 13.65 seconds during her semi-final.
Tuks Sport School’s head boy, Phenyo Miyen, also qualified for the 110m hurdles for men in a time of 13.18 seconds.
Oranje of Bloemfontein’s Rumé Burger won her heat in the 200m with a personal best time of 23.17 seconds to book her place in the next round. Sarah Reed of Curro Hillcrest, unfortunately, didn’t advance to the next round as she crossed the finish line in 24.38 seconds in her heat.
Burger went on to secure a place in the final with a time of 23.18 seconds in the semi-finals.
In the 200m for men, Mukona Manavhela (Curro Hazeldean) secured his spot in one of the semi-finals in a time of 21.10 seconds. He subsequently missed the final despite running a time of 20.89 seconds.
