Maties’ Samantha Pretorius says her Long Jump victory in this year’s first Varsity Athletics meeting in Potchefstroom is a sign that her training and planning in the pre-season has paid-off.
The first year Education student jumped a season’s best of 6.12m in her first jump of the evening, which was enough for the title. She was also the only one on the night to jump further than 6m.
“It was on track with the planning so it’s all looking good. It went well because of my training and the work with my coach, Julie Longden, with whom I have been training with for between three and four years now,” Pretorius told varsitysportssa.com.
“It was quite good. I made the best of the weather and the situation because the track was also very wet.”
Pretorius enjoyed the atmosphere and competitive nature of some of the country’s top athletes in Potchefstroom and cannot wait for the next edition in Stellenbosch, even though there will not be a Long Jump event
“It was very nice. It was something new as it was my first Varsity Athletics meeting so I enjoyed it a lot. There was a cool atmosphere and it was a very enthusiastic and alive and fun and I am looking forward to the next event as well.
“I am used to the track in Stellenbosch so the next one will be good. There isn’t going to be long jump but I will be in the Relay and hopefully the 100m as well, which I am still not sure of,” she said.
Pretorius believes the Varsity Athletics events are a good preparation for other events coming up later in the year as the universities’ best are often the country’s best as well.
“The events are a good way to see where you are because you don’t really compete often with the best out there so it was fun to compete with everyone at Potch. They will also be the ones I’m going to compete with at the SA Champs,” added Pretorius.
