SA’s Benjamin Richardson sprints to silver at U20 World Championships
The 17-year-old won a silver medal in the 100m final, he crossed the line in 10.28 seconds, with Letsile Tebogo of Botswana snatching the gold medal in 10.19 and Shainer Montoya of Cuba taking bronze in 10.32.
South Africa’s 100m and 200m sprinter Benjamin Richardson. Picture: @TuksSport/Twitter.
JOHANNESBURG – Double South African champion Benjamin Richardson won South Africa’s second medal at the World Athletics U20 World Championships in Nairobi, on Thursday.
The 17-year-old won the silver medal in the 100m final, crossing the line in 10.28 seconds, with Letsile Tebogo of Botswana snatching the gold medal in 10.19 and Shainer Montoya of Cuba taking bronze in 10.32.
“This is a big statement that Africa is coming up and very fast in sprints races. Taking the top two positions means there is huge potential in us the youngsters. My ambition is to start preps for the World Championships next year while also eyeing the Paris Games in 2024,” said Richardson.
The TuksSport High School learner-athlete won the under-20 men’s 100m and 200m races earlier in the year during the South African Track & Field U16 – U20 Championships in Paarl.
The president of Athletics South Africa, James Moloi, congratulated Richardson, saying that he hoped that the silver medal inspired the rest of the team.
“Congratulations to Benjamin and coach for the silver medal. After the great work worth its weight in gold yesterday, the inspiration has obviously rubbed off on Benjamin today. We trust that his silver medal will inspire the other athletes who are still in the competition.
“We also congratulate the team management for the great work they are doing in making sure that our athletes are as comfortable as possible so that athletes can concentrate only on being the best at the competition.”
History in the making!
Letsile Tebogo wins Botswanas first ever #WorldAthleticsU20 sprint title and only the countrys second ever medal in the history of these championships.
for South Africas Benjamin Richardson and goes to Cubas Shainer Rengifo Montoya. pic.twitter.com/H9igVXBWII
World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) August 19, 2021
On Thursday, Mckayla van der Westhuizen finished sixth in the women’s javelin throw final with a best attempt of 53.94m. Adriana Vilagos of Serbia won gold with a massive 61.46m heave.
In the women’s 3,000m final, Naledi Makgatha took eighth position in 9:55.08, with Kenyan athlete Teresiah Gateri securing victory in 8:57.78.
In the morning session, Christiaan Venter finished third in his 400m hurdles heat in 52.91, and Abednico Choba was fifth in his 800m heat in 1:50.20, booking their places in Saturday’s semifinals.
Jada van Staden took third position in her 400m hurdles heat in 59.33, missing out on a spot in the final by just 0.01.
Aviwe Hoboloshe ended fifth in her 800m heat in 2:11.65 and she was eliminated ahead of the final.
Fellow middle-distance runners Zola Sokhela, eighth in his 1,500m heat in 4:03.70, and Keanu Domingo, 10th in his race in 4:06.19, were also knocked out ahead of the medal contest in their event.
After two days of competition, the SA team was lying third in the overall table with two medals (one gold and one silver).
#TuksSport: Doing it #TheUPWay #TuksSportHighSchool learner-athlete, Benjamin Richardson of #TuksAthletics Academy, has won a silver medal with a time of 10.28 in the mens 100m final at the 2021 World Athletics U20 Champs in Kenya.#WorldAthleticsU20 #Elevate2Greatness pic.twitter.com/IouVAOMoFY
#TuksSport (@TuksSport) August 19, 2021
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