The month of March will forever hold special significance in Charné Swart's life—and not just because she ran the 800m in under 2 minutes for the first time on Saturday. In about two weeks, she will also be getting married.

Swart made history when she ran the 800 meters in 1:59.86 at Pilditch Stadium in Pretoria, becoming only the sixth South African female athlete to break the 2-minute barrier.

But her performance has even more historical significance. It marks the first time that both a local female coach and athlete have achieved this remarkable feat in the same event. Swart’s coach, Ilze Wicksell, was the first South African female to run the 800 meters in under 2 minutes, accomplishing the feat 42 years ago. Now, Swart joins the ranks of only six South African athletes to have done the same.

"I'm so relieved that it's finally happened. I've been trying to break the two-minute mark for a long time. And now it's happened. It's an incredible feeling."

Swart is known for her sporting demeanor. Moments after participating in the 800 at the World Student Championships in China, she rushed to the aid of a fellow athlete who had collapsed after her race. So, it is no surprise that after her breakthrough on Saturday, she was full of praise for Botswana's Oratile Nowe.

"I have to be honest; Oratile did the hard work by setting the pace from the start. I only passed her in the last 100 or so meters. It would have been great if she also dipped under two minutes.”

Swart's ultimate goal is to qualify for the Tokyo World Championships in September. That means a time of 1:59.00. She is confident it is achievable. She also plans to compete at the World Student Games in Germany in July. 

"I trained the best I've ever done in the off-season. Saturday was only my second race. We haven't started to really fine-tune for the 800 meters yet. It makes me excited to see what I'm capable of."

The one crucial thing to Swart every time she lines up to run is not to be afraid.

"I give my all when I run because I don't want to disappoint myself. The moment I finished racing, I must know it was my best effort. I couldn't have done better."

It is the first time since the early eighties when Wicksell and Eraneé Van Zyl both ran sub-two times in the 800 meters that two local athletes can do it again. The battle between Swart and Prudence Sekgodiso could become one of the great highlights in local athletics.

"Prudence and I have been competing against each other since our school days. Prudence deserves credit for reviving the 800 meters for women in South Africa. After Caster Semenya, there was a slump. If it wasn't for Prudence, we might still be running times of 2 minutes and five seconds because that was good enough to win locally. Through her performances, she forced us to get out of our comfort zones."