Byline: Refeloe Letsoisa
03 October 2023
Leandra Athletics Club (LAC) has been informally existing for about two years prior to being formally registered on 29 January 2022 following its registration with Athletics Mpumalanga.
The aim of the club is to bring the community of Leandra (all races and ages) together through athletics, the annual race is aimed at keeping the community fit while looking forward to the next race and developing the talent of running in Leandra.
LAC hosted a successful marathon race on Monday, 25 September 2023 in Leandra.
The race started at Osizweni Special School and ended back at the school which included a fun run and a 10km race.
The aim of the race was to invite potential sponsors to come on board and help the club to encourage the community’s talent.
“The race was a success in that it was organized according to the guidelines of Athletics Mpumalanga, no negative incidents were reported and all athletes were happy, and indicated interest to come back again,” said Mr June Mahlangu, deputy chairperson of LAC.
Awesome prizes were awarded to the winners with Musawenkosi Mnisi winning in first place, Siyabonga Xowana in second place and Simphiwe Lethukwa in third place, all from Sasol Marathon Club.
Meanwhile, Sipho Lukhele from Evander Athletic Club won on age 40+, Kobus Roets from Secunda Athletics Club won on masters age (50+) and Wikus Van Deventer from Sasol Marathon Club winning on grandmasters age (60+).
Dina Prinsloo from Secunda Athletics Club won first place, Mpho Ditshego from Sasol Marathon Club in second place and Zelemarie V.D Merwe from Secunda Athletics Club in third place.
The last price was awarded to Erika Swart from Bethal after winning first place on grandmasters age (60+) for women.
In conclusion, Mr Mahlangu stated that room for improvement is that from next year going forward, the race will be advertised at schools as they believe that most talent could be identified.
