Curro Podium national finals to showcase the cream of South African schools’ athletics
The cream of South Africa’s schools’ athletics crop will gather at the Pilditch Stadium in Pretoria for the annual Curro Podium Grand Finale this Saturday (8 February 2025).
The title of the best athletics team in South Africa is up for grabs, with the defending champions, Die Hoërskool Menlopark, and Curro Hazeldean the early favourites to secure that accolade. In the previous editions of the event, held in 2023 and 2024, Menlopark claimed the title.
In total, 64 school teams will be vying for the national title.
Catch all the action live on SuperSport Schools via DStv Channel 216 or by live streaming on the app.
All eyes will be focussed on the sprints. Last year, Bayanda Walaza (Curro Hazeldean) stole the spotlight, capturing the gold medal in the u19 100m in a blistering 10.44 seconds.
He went on to win a silver medal as part of the South African 4x100m team at the Olympic Games in Paris. Later in the year, he sped to two gold medals at the World Junior Championships in Lima, Peru, winning the 100m in 10.19 and the 200m in 20.52.
Curro Hazeldean speedster Mukona Manavhela will be aiming for a 100m and 200m double in the u17 age group. His best time so far this season in the 100m is a rapid 10.71 seconds. He has also clocked an even more impressive time of 21.36 seconds in the 200m.
Manavhela will expect some friendly competition from his teammate Jehoshaphat Motloung, who will be in action in the 200m and 400m sprints. Motloung is expected to have a ding-dong battle with Helpmekaar‘s Stiaan Myburgh in the one-lap event.
Another Helpies‘ sprinter Leendert Koekemoer (u19) has been in fine form and recently ran the 400m in 45.96 seconds, which was the fastest time in the world by a junior athlete in 2025.
Another mouthwatering showdown to look forward to is that between Taelyn Smith (Menlopark) and Willie van Wyk (Garsfontein) in the u17 high jump for boys.
They both cleared 2.05m in 2024 to set new personal bests, but the bar has already been raised in 2025, pun fully intended. Smith recently cleared 2.11 metres, which is the best performance in the world this year for an u17 athlete. Van Wyk’s best attempt of the year thus far came during his school’s annual Abrie van Staden meeting when he cleared 2.01m.
At last year’s South African Schools Championship, Van Wyk won the bronze medal with a clearance of 1.88m. Smith is the Curro Podium national final’s defending champion in the event after winning it in 2024 with a 2.00m jump.
In the javelin for boys u19, Jan-Hendrik Heymans, of Helpmekaar Kollege, appears set to break the meeting record of 65.08m, set by Johandré Pienaar, of Affies, during the inaugural event back in 2023. Heymans recently launched the javelin 69.53 metres.
Menlopark’s Megan Nieman will be hard to beat in the u17 100m hurdles. She bettered the national age group record in the 90m-hurdles during the SA Junior, Youth and Sub-Youth Championship last year with a time of 12.89 seconds. That record had stood for 21 years.
In the 400m hurdles, she will face stiff opposition from her teammate Liné de Villiers, who was the national u16 300m hurdles champion, winning the event in 42.41 seconds.
The Curro Invitational team, which features top athletes from various Curro schools, has a number of athletes to watch out for. They include Michane Jordaan (Girls’ u17, 100m and 200m), Matimba Baloyi (Boys’ u15, 300m hurdles and 400m), Michaela Spocter (Girls’ u17, high jump), Lethabo Maloma (Boys’ u19, 100m and 200m) and Keriana Govender (Girls’ u15, 90m hurdles and 300m hurdles).
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