Cape Town – Viwe Jingqi has conquered the junior division, and now she is setting her sights on the South African senior championships later this month.
The 17-year-old TuksSport High School star sprinter broke the South African Under-18 100m record thrice on Thursday at the national junior athletics championships in Potchefstroom.
Her time of 11.22 seconds to clinch gold in the final was not only an Under-18 record, but also a new SA Under-20 mark, eclipsing Marcel Winkler’s 11.25, set in 1989.
New month, new records 🏅 Viwe Jingqi is the fastest U18 100m sprinter in the WORLD at the moment! The 16-year-old from @TuksSport @UPTuks set 11.22 at the @AthleticsSA_ Junior Champs live on our channel! A new SA record 👏👏#TimetoShine pic.twitter.com/T6JV82qWOl
Jingqi ran 11.40 in the heats at the NWU McArthur Athletics Stadium, 11.36 in the semi-finals and then 11.22 in the final.
The time still has to be ratified by World Athletics, but once cleared, it would place Jingqi in 12th position on the all-time Under-18 world list, where the record of 10.98 was set by American Candace Hill in 2015.
But Jingqi doesn’t want her season to end there. She is eyeing the senior championships at the Green Point Athletics Stadium in Cape Town, which will take place from April 21-23 – where she could come up against national record-holder Carina Horn, whose SA mark is 10.98.
“They say I am not a human, but a machine, and I think it is true. I broke three records wearing new spikes, and I knew I could run faster times,” Jingqi said in a Athletics South Africa press release.
“I am consistent and know what I want to do on the track. I kept my concentration throughout the day and never lost focus, and was rewarded with the national title in the 100m.
“My parents are supportive and watched on YouTube. I dedicated the record to my late brother Vukile, who died last year in January.
“I will race at the ASA Athletics Grand Prix in Germiston (April 13) with the seniors, and I want to give them a run for their money. I have a positive mindset and love the sport. I am super excited. I am going for the national title in the senior champs in Cape Town.”
IOL Sport