Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Khayelitsha duo have world at their speedy feet
THEY’RE attractive enough to turn heads wherever they go, but certainly fast enough to easily keep away from any unwanted attention. They’re smart and sassy and talented and likely to be the faces of Western Province women’s athletics in years to come.
At 18 and 17 respectively, Pamela Moyikwa and Busisiwe Gwala would appear to have the world at their very speedy feet. The Khayelitsha- based pair are the highest-achieving runners of the K-Way VOB Running Club Development squad, under the mentorship of coach Bulelane Bheba, and are clearly marked for high honours.
Moyikwa grew up in Khayelitsha, moving recently from Site C to Macassar, where she lives with her mother Funeka, also a talented runner, her older sister, young brother and niece. Gwala hails from the Eastern Cape, having moved with her family from Matatiele to Cape Town in 2007.
Moyikwa matriculated from Sizimisele High School at 17, but was not satisfied with her marks in Maths and Geography and is trying to earn enough money to register to write those subjects again to improve her matric. Meanwhile she has time on her hands to focus on her athletics career, and the results are impressive.
Gwala, the more introverted of the duo, is the leading athlete at her school, Kamvalethu High, where she makes good use of the school track for training purposes. Her family role model is her grandmother, who also used to run, and who is justifiably proud of her granddaughter’s achievements.
She never thought of herself as a runner, until one day her friend, Nthuseng Lolwana, asked her to come to the sports field with her where she was training.
“I sat down to watch, but then her coach, Bulelane, asked me to join in.
“But I’m not a runner,” Gwala quickly said. “But then he asked if I could just run one lap of the field and I said, yes maybe. And that was the start of my running career. He said he will give me three years and then I will be the top junior in the Province!”
Moyikwa’s remarkable success at the 2014 WP Athletics awards evening caused people to sit up and take notice. She achieved the rare feat of winning the trophies for top junior in all three athletics’ disciplines – track, cross country and road.
She won the WP 2014 3000m title on the track and then placed second over that distance in the national junior championships in 10 min 02 sec.
In cross country, following her WP title, she placed an excellent third in the national junior championships last year in George, just two seconds off a silver medal. She also won six road races overall, finishing top junior in no fewer than 16, with her fastest 10km time an impressive 35:06.
In many of these races, Gwala trailed in second position, not far behind her more senior clubmate, and with Lolwana and other members of their squad providing the back-up, their club, VOB, is always prominent in the team events, regularly winning senior team prizes.
Moyikwa started running at the age of 12 through the JAG Foundation, while Elana Meyer was its CEO.
“I’d always heard about her and she has been my role model,” admitted Moyikwa. “She’s done so much amazing stuff. I once met her, but did not get to talk to her.
“Then I met up with Bulelane and joined his group. He always was encouraging me saying that it is always harder in the beginning and that I had the potential to do well. We do most of our training in and around Khayelitsha, along the railway line, in the Macassa dunes and also in the stadium, where Bulelane often shouts at me ‘Go Zola’ because I prefer to run barefoot like she did. Zola (Budd) is my other role model!
“My big dream would be to run for South Africa and hopefully I will make the junior team for the World Cross Country Championship (in Guiyang, China in March). I’ve raced all over South Africa, but have never been overseas. That would really be amazing.”
Moyikwa has every chance of selection, following her third position at the national championships, although she will need to show good form at the final trial in Pretoria at the end of the month if she is to realise her ambition.
“My ultimate goal would be to get a place in Elana’s running academy – Endurocad,” Moyikwa sighs. “That would be unbelievable.”