EP Masters athletes impress at national championship

With one of the smallest teams at the SA Masters Athletics Championships, Eastern Province still managed an impressive haul of 37 medals when the event wrapped up in Cape Town at the weekend.

And with a range of stellar performances under their belts, the 23 athletes, ranging between the ages of 35 and 70, will now look to further hone their talents as they prepare for the African Championships later this year.

Among the standout performances at the Greenpoint Stadium, between May 4 and 6, was well-known Gqeberha veterinarian Dr Mark Pellissier, who walked away with a gold medal and one of his best racewalk performances in recent years.

EP Masters Athletics chair Johann van Greunen said he was thoroughly impressed with his team’s performance and was looking forward to the upcoming events for the rest of the year.

“It’s been a while since we had such a large team travelling together and competing at the same event.

“Compared with some of the other provinces we are still very small, but we performed well considering the competitive field of athletes we were up against.”

Host province Western Cape, for example, fielded more than 100 athletes across the various disciplines.

But despite the size of the team, EP still came away with an impressive 14 gold medals, eight silver and 15 bronze.

One of the most decorated athletes, Willie Lombard, walked away with five gold medals and one silver in the various throwing events.

Athlete and unofficial team manager Martin Davids secured a bronze medal in the long jump for the 55-59 age group.

“Thanks to a knee injury, I couldn’t really put in my best performance.

“In the long jump I managed a distance of 4.38m, which was enough to put me on the podium.

“I usually participate in the sprints, but it wasn’t my day and I landed up fourth in the 100 and 200m.

“Hats off to my competition, those guys did really well.”

With racewalking one of the most competitive disciplines in Masters athletics, Pellissier was pleased with his 10,000m gold medal performance in the 4449 age group.

“Not only did I win, but I set my best time in the last four years at 50 minutes and 56 seconds.”

He shaved more than a minute off his time that secured him the national title last year, and even improved on his bronze-winning performance at the World Masters Athletic Championships in Finland almost a year ago.

“There are a few smaller events over the next few months, but my main focus will be on the African Championships in November.

“It should be a tough event, but I look forward to the challenge,” Pellissier said.

He said the event was wellorganised, there was a lot of hype and support from the stands, and conditions on the day were perfect.

“Normally athletes sort of do their own thing, and we enter and travel to events by ourselves.

“But last weekend we travelled together as a team and there was a great feeling of camaraderie and support.”