South African sprinter eyes regional breakthrough with sub-60 second performance

RISING ATHLETE GEMMA RIGELE POISED FOR SOUTH AFRICAN DEBUT AT REGIONAL GAMES

A personal best of 59.95 seconds at Pilditch Stadium in May has taken Gemma Rigele from club athlete to national representative in under a year. The sprint hurdler will represent South Africa at the Confederation of School Sport Associations of Southern Africa (COSSASA) Games in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, from August 31 to September 3, making her debut for the country at a regional schools competition.

Her path to this milestone has been compressed into a single calendar year. After taking up hurdles only at the start of the year, Rigele established herself as one of the country’s most promising young talents in the discipline. The progress has been measurable: she earned colours for both her club, Benoni Northerns Athletic Club (BNAC), and her school, St Dunstan’s College. At the ASA track and field championships, she reached the U18 women’s hurdles final and finished seventh, a result that demonstrated her competitive readiness at national level.

The performance that defined her season came at the SA Schools Championships. Rigele won the U18 girls’ 400 metres hurdles title, breaking the sub-60-second barrier she had set as a personal target. The achievement was technical and psychological in equal measure. “This latest achievement, along with winning SA Schools, is my biggest one yet and has helped me to gain confidence in my athletics career and to own my spot on the track,” she said.

Her schools championship victory sat within a broader competitive season. At the Central Gauteng Athletics Championships, Rigele claimed gold in the 400 metres hurdles while also collecting bronze medals in the 400 metres flat and high jump. Those results point to genuine versatility across multiple track events, not just a single-discipline peak.

The Central Gauteng teenager has reflected on her rapid development with evident pride. She described the schools championship win as the performance she is most proud of this season, recalling the emotional weight of the moment. “I smashed my PB and proved that I can go sub-60. Coming down the last straight, I couldn’t help but smile, all my hard work and tough training sessions had paid off,” she said. “Seeing my parents and my teammates screaming my name will forever be a memory I hold close to my heart.”

Her journey to national selection began with a far more modest ambition. “My goal this year was to qualify for SAs, as I had always dreamed of competing at a national level. I still remember holding back tears as I walked back to my dad on the side of the track with my green letter saying I had qualified for SA Schools, and look where I am now,” she reflected.

Meanwhile, preparation for Bulawayo has not been straightforward. Recent illness and competing hockey commitments, at both school and club level, have disrupted her build-up. “Recently I have been ill and playing hockey for school and for Northerns, so I am training hard to bounce back into my racing form and give my absolute best in Bulawayo,” she explained. Her goals for the Games are direct: medal and run a personal best.

Rigele has credited coach Michael van Aswegen as central to her rapid advancement, alongside consistent family support. “I love making them proud, and I immediately look for them in the stands after the finish line,” she said. Whether she can shake off illness in time to contend for a medal in Zimbabwe will be the first real test of how far that support network, and her own resilience, can carry her.