South African track cyclists Jean Spies and Charlene du Preez won gold in their respective sprint races on day three on Sunday of the African Track Continental Championships held in Cairo, Egypt.
Spies and top female sprinter Du Preez led a group of South Africans that scooped most of the gold medals on offer in Cairo. This was Spies’ reaction.
Joshua van Wyk and Steven van Heerden claimed gold in the Elite Men’s Madison, while Danielle van Niekerk and Ilze Bole won gold in the women’s event.
David Maree won the Elite Men’s points race. However, the stand-out star performer in the women’s race was Du Preez who won gold in three different events, the Individual Sprint, Kieran and Time-trial.
Despite dominating Africa, Spies and Du Preez will still have to overcome more hurdles at the World Championships in Berlin, Germany next month to determine if they qualify for the Olympics in Tokyo this year. Spies has more.
Spies believes South African track cycling is in a healthy position but reiterates there is more work to be done for SA to be a force to reckon with on the international stage. However in Africa, SA is undoubtedly on top.
– Report by Jefferson Lupuwana
