TRACK & FIELD
Prudence Sekgodiso has the world at her feet after a breakthrough 2022
Confidence of a of a Champion
When meeting 20-year-old Prudence Sekgodiso , one is immediately struck by her confidence , and an aura of being a champion . This year , the Tuks athlete made the breakthrough she had been threatening for some time , but it was not an easy road . – BY MANFRED SEIDLER
Running with a maturity , fearlessness and confidence that belie her age , Prudence Sekgodiso bided her time in fourth position as the stacked field in the women ’ s 800m at the Kip Keino Classic meet on 7 May completed the first lap in 58.58 seconds . The meet was part of the
World Athletics Continental Tour Gold , and the field included 2019 World Champion , Halimah Nakaayi of Uganda , and Kenyan Mary Moraa , who would finish third at the World Champs in the USA and win the Commonwealth Games gold medal just a few months later .
As the athletes hit the backstraight , Prudence made her move and took the lead . Coming into the home straight , she was still running away from the field as she crossed the line in a massive new personal best time of 1:58.41 , eclipsing her previous best by an incredible three seconds and taking the scalps of some big names in women ’ s middle-distance running . As she looked over at the clock next to the track , Prudence at first looked surprise and then broke into a huge smile as she realised she had achieved her goal of breaking through the two-minute barrier for the first time .
Prudence has gotten used to that winning feeling in SA 800m races
“ Our goal was to break two minutes this year . That was the target . We were hoping to run the time in June as a World Championships qualifier , so were a bit surprised when Prudence ran so fast in Nairobi ,” says Samuel Sepeng , her coach of the last two years . “ We always knew that she would break two minutes this year , but when she ran 1:58 in Nairobi , we knew 2022 was going to be a big year . Also , now that we had already achieved our goal by breaking two , anything from here was a bonus .”
And what a bonus year it turned out to be . Besides winning both the SA 800m and 1500m titles in April with ease , Prudence also posted a 4:09.88 PB for 1500m in Botswana in April , dipped under two minutes a further two times in Morocco and Sweden in June , won the 800m bronze medal at the Africa Championships in Mauretania in June , made the 800m semi-finals at the World Championships in the USA in July , and represented South Africa at the Commonwealth Games in the UK in August .
Images : Reg Caldecott & courtesy Thembisa Mile
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