CPUT athlete Siboniso Soldaka, who won the recent UWC 10 km Flat and Fast race, now has his sights on competing in the Olympics in Rio.
Sboniso defied pouring rain to cross the finishing line at the UWC race in just over 30 minutes, to the envy of his 1 328 competitors.
The third-year Office Management and Technology student says he was ecstatic about his victory as he did not only record his best time ever, but also outran some of the country’s top road runners such as Nkosinathi Madyo, Sibusiso Madikizela and Unathi Ntetha.
Siboniso is now preparing for two races which will see him compete with top athletes from all provinces, an experience which he hopes to use to qualify for the Olympic Games.
“I will be taking part in the Cape Town Marathon and the Gun Run, the country’s most competitive races. I hope to reduce my time to around 29 minutes,” he says.
Siboniso has been running track events and road races since 2011 and was elated when he scored a place in the Western Cape provincial athletics team two years ago.
He attributes his success mainly to CPUT Athletics Club coach, Sean Snyman, whom he says took his running to new heights.
“Before I started studying at CPUT I didn’t know the value of having a coach, but Mr Snyman made me understand it.”
