Young man, you have got some wheels on you! Bradley Nkoana from the North-West University (NWU) once again burnt up the tarmac on the international stage when he won bronze in the 100 m event at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Lima, Peru on Thursday, 29 August.

It was another splendid display by the national junior record holder, who clocked a time of 10.26 in the event. Nkoana is already a South African track darling after having won silver at the recently held Olympic Games in Paris as part of the national men’s 4x100 m relay team. His teammate and fellow silver medallist at the Stade de France, Bayanda Walaza, won gold in Lima with a time of 10.19.

From wheels to wings. Another NWU student, Ethan Olivier – who represents New Zealand – equalled his own national and under 20 Oceania triple jump record with a distance of 17,01 m. Olivier is studying for a degree in Engineering at the NWU, and he put all his vector knowledge to excellent use to win gold.

“On behalf of the NWU athletics team I want to sincerely congratulate Bradley. He has had a phenomenal season. We are very excited to see what the future holds for him. We also give a huge shout out to Ethan, who impresses us all with the way he balances academics and athletics,” said Wade Fraser, athletics manager at the Potchefstroom Campus of the NWU.

“Ethan is studying Engineering, which is not the easiest course to take when you are a world-class triple jumper. The fact that he has equalled his national record in the men's triple jump is just phenomenal. The exceptional juniors that we currently have at the NWU can now look to move to platforms like the World University Games, and hopefully the Commonwealth Games and World Senior Championships. These athletes are still on their development pathway, but they have set a base and will continue to grow. Having said that, I want to wish them the best of luck going forward. We congratulate them, and are excited about their return to give them a well-deserved hero’s welcome.” 

Bradley Nkoana