TRACK & FIELD
She finished the 2022 season ranked 14th in the world , having run eight of her top 10 800m times this year , but inevitably , the long , intense season would take its toll on her young body . “ Yoh , I was tired in Birmingham . My legs felt heavy ,” says Prudence . “ It was a long year for me , because we started in March already , when the rest of the world only starts their outdoor season in May . But what a year !”
The Early Days
Prudence hails from the village of Kgapane in Limpopo and started her athletics in primary school . Like many kids , she started as a sprinter , but soon realised that she was more suited to the longer races . She was also a good soccer player , and possibly would have continued playing if not for her brother convincing her to focus on running . “ He made me watch Caster race on television . Once I did so , I was inspired . I wanted to be like Caster , as she is a class act on the track ,” she says .
In 2016 , Prudence won a scholarship to the Tuks Sport School thanks to her 800m prowess . From there a world of opportunity opened . In 2017 she won both the 800m and 1500m at the Gauteng North Championships , and went from a 2:10.30 in the 800m to a 2:08.09 , while also lowering her 1500m time from 4:38.37 to 4:24.21 , winning the SA Schools Under-16 ( U16 ) title in the process . Her consistent progression saw her win the South African U20 Cross Country Trials in January 2018 , and then she posted a 2:06.96 PB for 800m in March 2018 , followed by winning the South African U18 800m title in April , in a time faster than that of the winner of the U20 age group ( 2:07.43 to 2:09.29 ).
That saw her selected to represent South Africa at the Africa Youth Games in Algiers in July . This was her first trip abroad , and she came home with the bronze medal in the 800m . She was then selected for the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires , Argentina , but was unfortunately disqualified due to a lane infringement .
First Sub-2
Watch the highlights of the race where Prudence Sekgodiso broke two minutes for the first time as she won the 800m race at the Kip Keino Classic meet in Nairobi , Kenya in May .
By 2019 , at the age of 17 , she was already consistently beating most South African women over 800m , with only the incomparable Caster Semenya ahead of her . That April , she comfortably won the Africa Youth Championships ( U18 ) after setting a World Youth Lead with her new PB of 2:03.98 – and that came soon after finishing 20th at the World U20 Cross County Championships in Denmark in March . Keep in mind , Prudence was still only 17 .
Terrible Timing
The world shutting down for the COVID pandemic in late March 2020 couldn ’ t have come at a worse time for Prudence . At the beginning of that year , she joined Samuel Sepeng ’ s training group and the results were astounding . Being the only female in the group meant she trained with faster male athletes , and it clearly worked . That saw an exultant Prudence leaping for joy as she crossed the finish line in the women ’ s 800m
The Two-minute Barrier
In May this year , Prudence Sekgodiso clocked 1:58.41 as she won the women ’ s 800m at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi , Kenya , beating a stacked field that included 2019 World Champion Halimah Nakaayi of Uganda . That time not only took three seconds off her previous best , but also meant that Prudence became jus the fifth South African woman to break the tw0- minute barrier for 800m , and rocketed her to second place in the all-time list of South African women in the 800m . Only Caster Semenya has gone faster .
The other four South African women to run a sub-2 are Ilze Wicksell and Eranee van Zyl , who both did so in 1983 , while Zelda Pretorius ran her first sub-twominute race in 1991 , and Caster Semenya did so for the first time in 2009 . An interesting comparison is that as a 17-year-old , Prudence was faster than Caster at the same age . She ran 2:03.98 , while Caster ’ s best was 2:04.23 . In 2019 , Prudence also became the youngest athlete to win the 800m at a South African Senior Championships . Caster was 18 when she did so for the first time .
Leaping for joy as she celebrates her PB in 2020 Consistent training has paid dividends for Prudence
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