Tuks track & field juniors, Chane Kok and Brian Raats, won gold today at the 2023 CAA African U18 and U20 Track & Field Championships in Lusaka.

Raats jumped 2.15 metres to win the men's under-20 high jump competition. To the 19-year-old's frustration, he sprained his ankle during the competition. 

"It is why I decided to stop after I won gold. I did not want to risk aggravating the injury."

Last year Raats won a silver medal during the Junior World Championships in Columbia. 

The 18-year-old Chané Kok was victorious in the under-20 women's 100m hurdles. According to her coach, Adri Schoeman, her most formidable opponent was the wind from the front.

"Chané won in 14.30s. It is a good result because the official wind reading was -2.3m/s. If it was not for that, Chané could have come close to setting a new personal best. It is the first time she has competed internationally. 

"What amazes me about her performance is that Chané was genuinely sick for two weeks. So I decided that she had to take a complete break from training. We had one training session before she left for Lusaka. The fact that she won gold proves that she has a big-match temperament. It is going to stand her in good stead in the future."

There is going to be no respite for Kok. When she gets back, she will be immediately off to Bloemfontein to represent Tuks at the South African Student Championships over the weekend. 

According to Schoeman, it might be her last race for the season. 

"If Chané gets selected to compete at the Africa Senior Championships, we will consider it. She has what it takes to become a top-class international hurdler, but she needs to be appropriately managed. I don't want her to be over raced. There are too many stories in South African athletics of young talented athletes who never fulfilled their potential due to being pushed too hard too early."

Kok is also the South African under-20 100m-hurdles champion. She won silver at the senior championships.

She is not the only one who wins medals. This weekend, Schoeman will be competing at the South African Masters Championships in Cape Town. During last year's World Masters Championships in Brazil, Schoeman won the 100 and 200 metres in the 50-54 age category.

"It is a good thing that I am still competing myself because it serves as a reminder of what my athletes must go through when they race. It is easy to forget about the effects of lactic acid and the emotional stress of racing when you are not competing yourself."

Schoeman is a four-time national champion.