Coetzenburg Athletics Stadium in Stellenbosch welcomed 1 995 athletes from 57 schools for this year’s Curro Podium South, the biggest edition yet, on Friday 23 and Saturday 24 October.

“It’s encouraging to see how the meeting has grown from more than 1 400 athletes last year to almost 2 000 this year,” said Cindy van der Merwe, Curro Sport portfolio manager.

“The records set this year reflect the level of competition and the talent among the athletes. Curro Podium gives them the chance to measure themselves against their peers, and we want to keep creating opportunities for them to compete and develop.”

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Impressive display in primary school field

The primary school meeting saw 48 records, while the high school competition added another 19, bring the record-tally to 67 records across the two meetings.

Now in its second year, the primary school competition was held on Friday and drew 601 athletes from 19 schools, with athletes aged seven to 13 competing for individual and team honours.

Among the primary school athletes, Dylan Calvert of Meridian Pinehurst was again hard to catch. The sprinter made headlines last year, when he broke an 18-year-old national record in the u-11 80 m sprint.

Calvert followed that up by winning the boys junior 100 m and 150 m events in 11.80 and 17.59 seconds, respective. He was one of four athletes to set two records at the meeting, alongside his schoolmates Dale Fillies and Chelsea Witbooi.

The top three primary schools were Durbanville Primary School, the Namibia Private School Organisation and Huguenot Primary School.

Seniors shine

The high school field arrived with its reputation already made: African champions, national record holders and provincial record-setters, many of them still in their teens.

Jayden Fourie of Paarl Gymnasium won the 200 m and long jump events at the 2025 African Youth Games in Luanda. Paul Roos Gymnasium’s Vuyo Ngobeni has been quick for years, from winning the under-11 100 m race at the SA Primary School Championships to setting a Western Cape 100 m record of 10,75 this season.

Paarl Girls’ High School’s Lara Stander is an African cross-country champion and La Rochelle’s Lamicah Adamson, at merely 14, broke the national u-15 200 m record.

That standard showed from the first race. Fourie ran 10.37 in the boys’ 17 100 m, a Podium record, Ngobeni clocked 10.56 in the boys’ 15 100 m, with Khotso Motsamai just behind in 10.67.

The field events produced some of the biggest marks of the weekend. Paarl Gimnasium’s Tyron Oncke launched the boys’ 15 discus out to 73,47 m. The pole vault saw three records in three age groups, with Reinhardt van Heerden clearing 4,72 m in the boys’ 17 event, Alwyn Esterhuizen going over at 4,30 m in the boys’ 15 and Elvis Hwata matching that height in the boys’ 19.

In the high-school team competition Paarl Gymnasium took first place in the boys’ standings, followed by Hoërskool Outeniqua and Paarl Boys’ High. Paarl Girls’ High topped the girls’ competition, with Hoër Meisieskool Bloemhof in second place and Paarl Gimnasium in third. In the combined team standings Paarl Gimnasium, Hoërskool Outeniqua and Hoërskool Durbanville claimed the top three places.

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