PRETORIA. – More than 3 000 young athletes participated in the 2026 Curro Podium Noord at Pilditch Stadium in Pretoria on 18 and 19 September.
Curro Sport and Curro Hazeldean hosted the event. The series, which began in 2023, has grown into a major event on the school athletics calendar.
More than 3 000 athletes participate
The secondary school division attracted 2 224 athletes from 69 schools, while the primary school division included 1 058 participants from 33 schools.
This brought total participation to 3 282 athletes.
The scale of the event was particularly evident during the 200 m. On Friday there were an average of 15 heats per age group. The 200 m programme lasted approximately three and a half hours.
Primary school athletes get chance to qualify for Grand Finale
The 2026 event introduced a new opportunity for younger athletes. For the first time, primary school athletes' performances at Curro Podium Noord could also qualify for the 2027 Curro Podium Grand Finale.
According to information from Curro Sport, 1 058 primary school athletes from 33 schools participated. A total of 89 records were broken.
Lynnwood Primary School won the primary school competition.
Menlopark leads secondary school standings
Menlopark High School won the combined secondary school competition, followed by Curro Hazeldean and Noordheuwel High School.
Curro Hazeldean won the boys division, with Menlopark High School second and Afrikaans High School for Boys third.
In the girls division Menlopark finished first. Afrikaans High School for Girls was second and Curro Hazeldean third.
The top 10 in the combined secondary school competition were Menlopark High School, Curro Hazeldean, Noordheuwel High School, Helpmekaar College, Montana High School, Zwartkop High School, Waterkloof High School, Monument High School, Marais Viljoen High School and Dr Malan High School.
Individual achievements
Camara Bintou from Curro Hazeldean achieved 988 points in the 100 m and 1 000 points in the 200 m.
Johanne Lamprecht from Montana High School recorded 1 000 points in shot put, while Ewald Taljaard from Leeuwenhof Academy achieved 1 000 points in shot put.
Megan Nieman from Menlopark High School recorded 975 points in the 100 m hurdles and 967 points in the 200 m.
Tommie Cronje from Menlopark High School achieved 1 000 points in the 1 500 m steeplechase. Jaco van Dyk from Menlopark also recorded 1 000 points in shot put.
Bulela Mganu from TUKS Sport High School achieved 967 points in the 1 500 m and 965 points in the 3 000 m.
Early start on day two
The second day of the competition started at 06:00 with steeplechase events. The cool morning air and the sun rising over the horizon provided the backdrop for an early start at Pilditch.
The steeplechase events kicked off the day's programme before the rest of the competition continued. The short and long hurdles events also provided strong competition on the track.
Major school athletics event
With 3 282 participants from the primary and secondary school divisions, the 2026 Curro Podium Noord drew a large field to Pilditch.
The combination of a large participant field, record performances and the new qualification opportunity for primary school athletes has further strengthened the event's place on the school athletics calendar.
Curro Sport also acknowledged aQuelle as the event's hydration partner.
Source: Curro Sport
This article is an automatic English translation of a Nuusflits article originally published in Afrikaans. Read the Afrikaans original.
