Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Itheko athlete on the rise takes gold at High School Champs
COLE Fluks has shown commitment and dedication are some of the qualities needed to be a gold-medal winning athlete.
Cole, 16, bagged gold in the boys Under-17 200m sprints at the Western Cape High Schools Championship in Paarl on Thursday. He did the same at the Western Province High Schools Championships at the Green Point Athletics Track last weekend.
Leading up to the competition, the Grade 11 pupil at Mondale High School in Mitchells Plain had been in great form.
He finished in first and second place respectively in the boys U17 200m and 100m sprints at the Southern Zone Championships and the inter-school competition.
Cole, a member of Itheko Sport Athletic Club, has also been doing well at club meets this season.
“I’ve competed at the WP High Schools Championships for a few years now and it was the first time I won a gold medal in the 200m. The competition was very competitive and it was amazing to run against athletes I grew up with. It has really been a great season thus far,” he said.
“I would like to make my friends, family and coach proud by bringing home the gold medal. The fact that new athletes come up every year excites me a lot and competition never gets any easier.
“On the morning of a competition, I usually eat things with carbohydrates so that I can burn something while running. During the competition I would eat something light like a
banana and always have a bottle of water with me to stay hydrated.
“At the end of the competition, I will eat fruit and more food with carbohydrates in order to regain the energy I lost during the day.
“I want to thank my mother, father, coach, teachers and my teammates for investing time in me into becoming better every day and pushing me up until the very last minute of training, even if it is reading a Bible verse,” said the Western Cape boys U15 100m champion in 2020, who is a fan of eight-time Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt.
“As a kid, I enjoyed watching Usain Bolt run,” he added.
His mother Vivian described him as someone who works hard for what he wants.