Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Jesse’s hard work and dedication pays off
ASEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD from Uitsig is set to represent South Africa at the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) Youth and Junior in Côte d’Ivoire next week.
Hard work, motivation and determination have paid off for the UWC Athletics Club’s star athlete Jesse Josias.
The Parow High School Grade 11 pupil will be part of the South African boys under-18 4x100m relay team that includes Athletics Gauteng North’s Thabang Hlohlolo and Eckardt Potgieter. The trio will be joined by Athletics Mpumalanga’s Vuyo Ndlovu.
The selection comes as no surprise as the former Excelsior Primary School pupil had an excellent local track and field season.
Humble and polite, Jesse is the youngest of two boys and he and his brother Chad, 22, often played sports and were athletic growing up.
But it was his Grade 6 teacher who identified his talent.
“I have always done athletics, been doing it since Grade 1 and I still remember when I was in Grade 6 practising hurdles at school, and one of my teachers came up to me, and he said what I have is true talent, and I should not waste it,” he said.
Last month, Jesse claimed the third position in the boys U18 100m and 200m sprint events at the Athletics South Africa (ASA) Youth and Junior Championships in Paarl.
He was also part of the Western Province Athletics (WPA) boys U18 relay team that took silver to finish behind AGN’s “A” team.
“It is an amazing feeling, but I’m nervous at the same time. The plan is to do my best and help my team bring home the gold medal from the African Championships,” Jesse said.
Also last month, Jesse stormed his way to a gold medal in the boys U18 100m and 200m sprint events at the WPA Junior Championships at the Parow Athletics Track. A few weeks earlier, he finished second in the boys’ U17 100m sprints Western Province High Schools Championships and the Northern Zone High Schools Championships.
Jesse started his season in February when he did the double in the boys U17 100m and 200m sprints at his inter-school competition.
He bagged a third gold medal after he helped his relay team to a
‘It’s an amazing
feeling. The plan is to
do my best and help
my team bring home
gold from the African
Championships’
first-place finish.
Jesse credits his family and coach Nathan van Wyk who has always supported and pushed him to be where he is today.
“My family has always been there for me and attended most of my athletics competitions. Thanks to coach Nathan, who helped me become a better athlete.
“He is like my second father, I respect him a lot, and I couldn’t have asked for a better coach,” he added.
His mother Adele said she was extremely proud of what Jesse had achieved this season.
“He is very committed, and knows what he wants to achieve in life. I will always push him to be the best he can be,” she said.