On Thursday, Burger shattered the 16-year-old SA Schools record during the semi-finals, clocking a winning time of 11.50 seconds – almost half a second faster than any other athlete. 

She improved her own record on Friday afternoon, shaving off another 0.07 seconds to secure the gold medal in 11.43 seconds. Gauteng’s Oluchi Ndubueze claimed silver in 11.90 seconds, while her provincial teammate Megan Nieman rounded off the podium with 11.95 seconds.

Burger, daughter of former Toyota Cheetahs and Blitzboks winger Philip Burger, told OFM Sport she was thrilled with her achievement and admitted feeling the pressure to perform.

“It’s just absolutely amazing to be able to shine here in my hometown,” said Burger.

“There was definitely pressure because most of the girls in my heat were in the final at the ASA Champs in Cape Town last week, so it felt like a little rematch for me. I’m probably aiming for the Senior Championships next, so there won’t be much time to rest.”

Historic significance

Adding to the historic significance of her achievement, Rumé’s grandfather, Thys Burger, made his Springbok debut at the same stadium in 1980 against the British and Irish Lions. Back then the rugby stadium and athletics track were the same venue.

Burger is set to compete in the girls’ under-17 200m semi-finals on Saturday at 09:00. Should she progress, the final will take place at 12:50.

Jayden Parkin. Photo: Morgan Piek

In the boys’ under-17 110m hurdles, Jayden Parkin of Hoërskool Sentraal also rewrote the record books. He stormed to gold with a national school record time of 13.09 seconds, finishing a remarkable 0.78 seconds ahead of his nearest competitor.

Raeden Schamboua took silver in 13.87 seconds, while Van Zyl Venter of Gauteng secured bronze in 13.90 seconds. Parkin’s victory was redemption after being disqualified in the 100m for a false start – an incident he took in his stride.

“Winning gold in a record time is an amazing feeling, and I’m excited for what lies ahead,” Parkin told OFM Sport.

“I’m definitely aiming to compete at the African Champs later this year. At least the 100m disqualification didn’t bother me too much – it wasn’t my first false start.”

Meanwhile, in the boys’ under-15 100m hurdles, Reuben Smit of Grey College set a new South African school record with a blistering 12.88 seconds to claim gold. Bonga Tau of Mpumalanga took silver in 13.13 seconds, while Western Cape’s Dillan Brown finished third in 13.33 seconds.

In the girls’ under-13 high jump, Free State LSEN representative Ntsoaki Kaiser won gold with a best clearance of 1.27m.

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek mvh