A CPUT athlete has just returned from an international meeting in Belgium where he won the 5 000m race and came third in the 3 000m steeplechase.
Siboniso Soldaka, a third-year student in the Department of Business and Information Administration, ran some of his personal best times and improved on his performances from the previous year.
He was taking part in the 53rd International Antwerp Athletics Gala and the Memorial Jos Verstockt in Belgium.
“I ran my new personal best of 08:45.70 in the 3 000m steeplechase, my previous best was 08:55. I won the 5 000m with a new personal best of 14:12.13, I was hoping to run under 14 minutes, but the wind was blowing so strong,” says the senior men’s Western Province cross country team member.
Now he is turning his focus to preparing for the new track season and hopes to run quick times so that he can qualify for the IAAF World Indoor Championships next year in Birmingham and the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia.
During the recent meetings he ran qualifying times for the World Student Championship and stood a good chance to be selected by University Sports South Africa to represent the country, but due to lack of funding he could not compete in other major championships in South Africa in order to make the team.
“It is very encouraging for an athlete to receive some support, even if it’s a pair of running shoes, it motivates you to perform well for the club.”
More recently, Siboniso also came second during the Western Cape’s cross country champs.
