De Duine athletes shine

Athletes from three teams, Team Blue, Yellow, and Red, competed in various track and field items at the De Duine Secondary School inter-house athletics competition.

The overall team rankings at the end of the competition reflected the Yellow team's dominance. Team Yellow accumulated 383.80 points, followed by the Red team with 360 points and the Blue team with 287.50 points.

Lyzander Willemse of the Blue team made headlines by breaking a record he established for the 800-meter race. Willemse, who clocked a time of 2 minutes, 2 seconds, attributed his success to his dedication and training routine.

“I know that I have the potential. I trained every day after school to achieve this,” he said, adding that one of his friends, who is his competitor, pushed him to the limits as they always train together.

Sprinter Abby Marney of the Yellow team was in dashing form and claimed victory in the girls U/14-15 100m race with a time of 13.3 seconds. She narrowly edged out Ashley Goses from the Blue team, who finished just behind her with a time of 13.4 seconds. Tjarirove Kaveterua, also from the Blue team, secured third place with a time of 14.4 seconds.

Marney continued her winning streak in the 200-meter sprint and secured another victory for the Yellow team in a time of 30.8 seconds. Goses from the Blue team, with a time of 32.1 seconds, finished in second place.

Marney stated that she worked hard for her achievements.

”No one expected me to win both of my races; they looked down on me, but I proved them wrong.”

The on-track rivalry between Tyler Herbert and Kidibon Gaoseb from the Red team produced a thrilling sprint in the boys’ U/14-15 category. Both athletes crossed the finish line simultaneously and shared the first-place spot on the podium with their time of 11.5 seconds. Steven van Wyk of the Blue team finished in second place with a time of 11.8 seconds.

Sergio Sebastiao of the Yellow team dominated the boys’ U/16-17 100m race and won the item in an impressive time of 10.9 seconds.

Romano Adams of the Red team delivered a standout performance in the 1500m race, finishing with the fastest time of 5 minutes and 2 seconds and just outpacing Wade Slinger of the Yellow team, who ran 5 minutes and 4 seconds.

In the field events, Khaeseb Nawaseb of the Blue team emerged victorious in the long jump item (5.60m) for boys U/19. John Kaizer of the Red team and Christaanho Bouman of the Yellow team shared the top spot in the high jump (1.54m) for boys U/19.

Jade Langenhoven of the Red team excelled in the javelin throw (36.74) for boys U/17, while Wynand Thompson of the Yellow team dominated the shot put (8.63m) for boys U/17. Joshua Tyler Moller of the Yellow team won the discus throw (22.54m) for boys U/15.

Richonald Gamiseb, the sports coordinator for De Duine Secondary School, praised the athletes for their impressive performances.

“Despite the fierce competition, the event fostered sportsmanship among the students and highlighted the talent present within our athletic program. The next athletics competition is the Welwitschia Zonals, set to take place mid-March at Walvis Bay Private School Sports Field, and I am positive about the team that will be representing us."