Records fall as Curro Podium meeting unleashes SA’s next generation of stars

Every year, children aged six to 18 know they are back to school when, like clockwork, athletics day rolls around. The days are long and gruelling under the summer sun as heat after heat passes by, and it almost always runs late.

But, these are the days when new talent emerges; where kids, despite their tender age, do the unimaginable.

At this year’s Curro Podium Grand Finale, one of the largest athletics events in the country, records were falling one after the other as the next generation of athletes announced themselves on the national stage.

The Curro Podium is a national inter-school platform in which schools compete in northern and southern regional meets. The top athletes from those events qualify for the Curro Podium Grand Finale – the culminating championship that was held at Pilditch Stadium in Pretoria this past weekend, on 13 and 14 February.

“More than a competition, the event serves as a pathway, unlocking raw potential, building belief, and revealing a pipeline of talent ready to carry SA’s sporting legacy forward,” said Cindy van der Merwe, Portfolio Manager of Curro Sport.

According to Van der Merwe, the Podium is also one of a handful of school-level events where young athletes are able to qualify for rankings and points within Athletics South Africa (ASA).

ASA primarily utilises the World Athletics Scoring Tables to rank performances, alongside specific Athletics Performance Evaluation (APE) Tables for school-level competitions.

These tables assigned points based on performance, age and gender, with a 600-point threshold often indicating a strong, competitive standard in local and school competitions, said Van der Merwe.

Running is in the blood

At the end of the two-day event, 16-year-old Tiisetso Malungane managed to rack up 2,000 ASA points.

Malungane produced a blistering run in the boys’ 1,500m, surging to victory in just over 3:45.35 to set a new meeting record. The performance also marked a personal best, shaving eight seconds off the time he ran at the national age group championships at Greenpoint Stadium about this time last year.

Malungane then went on to complete a distance double in the 3,000m, running an 8:21.03 to cement his reputation as one of SA’s most exciting middle-distance prospects.

Long before he was clocking 3:45 over 1,500 metres, Malungane was chasing his mother around a training field.

An accomplished marathon and ultra-marathon runner, Catherine Malungane trained throughout her pregnancy and even returned to running just two weeks after giving birth.

“He grew up under me [where] everything was about running. For me to put food on the table, I had to go and run,” she said.

By the age of three, Malungane was determined to follow her everywhere.

“I would go for training, not knowing that he’s following me, crying because he wanted to come,” she said. “When we’d get to the training ground, I’d put him on the side [of the track] and say, ‘Wait for mommy,’ but two seconds later he would be running after me.”

It was on that track that Catherine first noticed something different.

“The field was too big, but he would cut across just to reach me, and he was fast,” she said. “That’s when I realised this boy can run.”

A “generational talent” is what Dillan van Rooyen, the head middle distance coach at Curro Hazeldean, called Malungane.

“[His times] are not something we see regularly. And he is getting faster, he’s also getting stronger and the hardest thing with Tiisetso is actually trying to slow him down,” said Van Rooyen.

Over the years, Curro Hazeldean has produced standout athletics talent, particularly under the tutelage of the renowned Thabo Matebedi, or Coach T, in Bayanda Walaza and Matodzi Ndou.

Walaza won silver at the 2024 Paris Olympics as part of SA’s 4 x 100m relay team, and in 2025 he also became the ninth South African to go below 10 seconds when clocked a 9.99 at the Gauteng North Provincial Championships.

In 2024, Ndou set a new African U18 record in the 110m hurdles, clocking a 12.98s, according to World Athletics.

Standout talent

Malungane was not the only athlete to shine on the weekend and smash records. Also from Curro Hazeldean, Mukona Manavhela produced a statement performance on the track, surging to victory in the U19 boys 100m in a belligerent 10.20 seconds to set a new meeting record.

He completed the sprint double by taking the 200m in 20.52 seconds earning himself a total of 952 ASA points for both events.

Outeniqua High School’s Jayden Fourie claimed the U17 boys’ 100m, cruising to victory in 10.38 seconds and setting a new Podium record.

Sarah Reed from Curro Hillcrest earned herself 965 ASA points when she claimed victory in both the U17 girls 200m and 100m. She set a new Podium record in the 200m and was the only female athlete in the field to break the 24-second barrier.

In the 1,500m, African cross-country champion Lara Stander from Paarl Girls’ High School delivered a strong performance as she set a new meeting record of 4:22.65.

Stander recently represented SA in the US, finishing as the country’s top athlete in the U20 women’s 6km race, placing 27th and helping the team secure ninth place overall.

From Die Hoërskool Menlopark, Megan Nieman broke her own national and continental record when she clocked 13.02 seconds in the 100m, improving the benchmark she had previously set for the girls’ U17.

“The Curro Podium creates a platform for young athletes to perform at their best and compete against top talent from across the country,” says Van der Merwe. “It reflects our commitment to developing school sport, nurturing future champions, and building a strong talent pipeline for South African athletics.” DM