South Africa’s top junior athletes converged at Germiston Stadium from 26–28 March 2026 for the annual ASA Age Group Championships. The championships produced a thrilling showcase of emerging talent and record-breaking performances in spite of challenging weather on day one and three.
The championships, hosted by Central Gauteng Athletics, featured U16, U18, U20 and U23 categories. Athletes competed across a full track and field programme, including sprints, middle-distance races, hurdles, relays, multi- and field events. The occasion once again highlighted the depth of athletics development across the country.
Records galore
One of the defining features of the 2026 edition was the number of national records that fell, particularly on Day two of competition. The hurdles events produced a total of five new national records.
Five hurdles records
Considering the amount of hurdles records broken at the ASA Age Group Championships, the event has a strong and growing athlete base.
Matodzi Ndou won gold for Athletics Gauteng North (AGN) in the U20 men’s 400 m hurdles. With a time of 48.64 seconds, he improved the South Africa Junior record of 48.73 set by former world U20 champion Sokwakhana Zazini in Napoli in July 2019.
The record breaker, Megan Nieman, once again produced a stellar performance. She claimed gold in the women U18 400 m hurdles in 56.64 seconds, slicing 0.13 seconds off her own South African record set earlier this month. Nieman was unfortunately disqualified in the 100 m hurdles heats for a false start, preventing her from contesting a medal in the event.
In the absence of Nieman, Janelle Kirkpatrick led an AGN sweep of the podium in 12.96 seconds in the U18 100 m hurdles for women. Kirkpatrick and teammate Megan Maree, broke the national and continental mark of 13.02 set by Megan Nieman in Tshwane in February.
In the U20 women’s 100 m hurdles final, the South African hurdles queen Tumi Ramokgopa, won gold for Athletics Gauteng North (AGN) in 12.93 becoming the first South African to break the 13 second mark. The former Prestige College student, sliced 0.22 off her own South African junior record of 13.15 which she set in Potchefstroom in September last year. Not a newcomer to breaking records, Tumi has been breaking records on a yearly basis in the hurdles event.
Another hurdler, Enrique Bosch, gave a brilliant performance in the U18 men 110 m final. The CGA athlete sailed over the hurdles claiming gold in 12.92 seconds, chopping 0.06 off the South African Youth 110 m hurdles record of 12.98 seconds set by Matodzi Ndou in Tshwane in September 2024. This stellar time hands him the second fastest time globally in the all-time rankings. It is just 0.05 seconds outside the World Youth Record (12.87) held by Australian athlete Sasha Zoya.
Other records
In the U18 400 m sprint for women, Christi Loggenberg claimed gold in 52.33 seconds, leading another AGN podium sweep in the U18 event. She shattered the national youth record of 52.84 seconds which was set by Precious Molepo in Germiston in April 2022.
Ansume de Beer (Boland Athletics) became the only field event athlete at the three-day championships to break a national record. De Beer achieved a convincing gold, clearing 4.18m. This adds two centimeters to her own African mark (4.16 m) in the U20 women’s pole vault competition which she achieved in Stellenbosch last year.
One the first day of the competition, the U18 men 4×100 m relays produced a new national mark. The Boland team blazed to a 40.17 second first place. The quick-feet quartet consisted of Lezario Meyer, Micah Africa, Mitchell Maarman and Quade Matjan.
Platform for future stars
The ASA Age Group Championships continue to serve as a critical stepping stone for athletes aiming to progress to senior national and international competition. Many of South Africa’s elite athletes have emerged through this pathway, and the 2026 edition once again demonstrated the strength of the development pipeline.
With the senior championships coming up several U20 athletes will aim to use the it as a final attempt to qualify for the World Junior Championships in Oregon later this year.
Photos by Lulu’s Sport Pics
