Maties’ 400m hurdle star Jean Marie Senekal will be relying on home comforts to provide the extra motivation needed to claim top honours at the second Varsity Athletics meeting in Stellenbosch.
Senekal finished second a year ago when she pushed defending champion Anneri Ebersohn but fell short in the final stretch, however, she will be looking to erase that from her memory as she goes in search of that elusive win.
“Being in front of your home crowd gives you that extra motivation, for example during last year’s relay – running in front of the team – hearing them cheer in that last 100m makes you dig deep. It is always fun [running at home] in front of your friends and family.
“I know I will have a tough time in the race but I know that if I am able to chase Anneri, I will run a good time – which is my main aim. I need to make sure I run under 57.50 seconds as that is the qualifying time for the World Student Games,” she told varsitysportssa.com.
This will not be Senekal’s first rodeo, having run at previous Varsity Athletics meetings, and feels that the concept has provided the lesser known athletes with a chance to compete against the best at a massive event.
“It is a great concept and allows the lesser known student athletes to run against the likes of Akani [Simbine] and Caster [Semenya] and test themselves against the best in the country.
“The atmosphere at these meets is amazing and you, as the athlete, feel important and gives you a great platform and opportunity to show everyone what you can do. They [Varsity Sports] have brought excitement back into the sport and have attracted more people to watch. It is just a couple of hours, it’s short, sharp and you can see all the different events in quick succession,” she added.
Before the 22-year-old Post Grad Education has a shot at the Varsity Athletics 400m hurdle title, there is the small task of competing at the Athletics South Africa Senior Track and Field Championships in Stellenbosch, where she hopes to be in the medals.
