By Thathe Msimango
South African reigning hammer throw champion Tshepang Makhethe is on a mission to sharpen the abilities of the country’s athletes to be future champions.
Since devoting himself to coaching hammer throw full-time three years ago, Makhethe’s work is beginning to blossom with some wonderful results.
Last year he had one athlete, Miranda Greyling claiming bronze in Athletics South Africa (ASA) senior Championship then went on to represent the country at African Championship in Mauritius.
That was a start of something special as three of his athletes, Jaylin Van Dyk, Derek Groenewald and Marizelle Geyser excelled in their respective provinces to qualify for the SA school and junior Championship next weekend.
“I started the journey at the University of Pretoria as assistant coach before Covid-19 put everything on standstill,” explains 27-year-old who hails from Sasolburg
“Last year I accepted more youngsters under my ranks which is something I don’t regret as they are performing well so far. I’m quite happy with their progress and I project good things to come.”
With national record holder Chris Harmse being the only athlete to qualify to represent the country at World Athletics Championship and Olympics, Makhethe says in his base there are potential Olympians.
“Jaylin (Van Dyk) is the athlete I’m expecting more things from here. She threw 54 cm at the Gauteng Championship which is quite good at her age. Girls at her age are going at 59 cm which you can see is not far behind,” said the African silver medalist.
“I think she stands a chance to represent us at the Olympics, which is something that hasn’t happened before.”
Makhethe broke into the athletics scene when he broke Harmse’s 23-year national titles winning streak in 2019 to be crowned country’s champion.
He has twice represented the country in Commonwealth games (2018 and 2022) and his younger sister Phethisang is also a hammer throw star.
Picture above: Jaylin van Dyk and Tshepang Makhethe
Image source: Supplied
