Muntingh Hamman, of UP-Tuks, is on a mission to clinch a medal at the Athletics South Africa Senior Track and Field Championships after claiming gold in the 110 metre hurdles at the first Varsity Athletics meeting in Potchefstroom.
The 25-year-old was overjoyed to have tasted success in his first Varsity Athletics meet after having suffered a serious setback in 2013 and had undergone intense rehab in 2014.
“Being at my first Varsity Athletics meeting was an awesome experience. It was my first and only meeting and I told myself to just go out there and have fun.
“For me, that was the biggest event I have run in thus far in my career and to have been able to win the race [110 metre hurdles] was an unbelievable achievement considering the injury I had in 2013 where I tore my quadricep and had to undergo intense rehab and work a lot harder in 2014 to regain my strength and speed,” he told varsitysportssa.com.
There was extra joy in the Hamman household as his younger brother, Leroux Hamman claimed the honours in the 400 metre hurdles event. The brothers have trained together for many years and share the same trainer as they look to further their careers in the sport.
“It is such an honour to train with Leroux and seeing him achieve good things in the sport. I was overjoyed to share in his celebrations after his race, and he shared in mine. So it was a great day for the Hamman family on the track,” he added.
The Master in Agriculture student’s main aim is to qualify for the World Student Games and needs to shave 0.1 seconds off his personal best to achieve the 13.97 seconds qualifying time. He will have two chances to reach that time at major events with the Senior Championships being held in Stellenbosch on April 17-18 and the Student Games at the same venue in May.
“I have set myself the goal of being in the medals at the upcoming Senior Champs in Stellenbosch and also to claim top honours at the Student Games in May. But over and above that, I would like to improve my personal best of 14.07 seconds and cut it down to at least 13.97 seconds as that is the qualifying time for the World Student Games,” he stated.
