Siyamthanda Khumalo from Ermelo in Mpumalanga is emerging as a young athletics talent.
At 10, he set a standout long jump of 5.09m, a record among competitors in his age group, at the SA Primary Schools Championships in the Western Cape last week.
His dream is to represent SA internationally.
His mother, Luleka Matika, told Sowetan that her son represented them well as a family and the greater Mpumalanga.
“We knew he had a chance because already in the provincial championship he broke another record, jumping 4,84m,” she said.
“We were hoping he can just jump over 5m in the nationals, so he can be on the podium. He exceeded expectation and brought home the gold medal.”
Matika said her son started long jumping in 2025. “But he has been an overall athlete since the age of six,” she said. “He is a good sprinter; he had qualified for 80m and 100m. It’s just that it did not go well on the sprint.
“In 2024, he qualified for the SA Championships in Bloemfontein, even though he did not make it through to the semifinals.
“Last year, he showed interest in long jump, and the potential was seen by a coach he had met over the holidays while visiting his grandmother in Tsakane (Ekurhuleni). From there, he got more training until this year, when he was able to compete.”
She said athletics was in his DNA.
“Growing up, I was an athlete. In 2005, at the age of 20, I competed in the cross-country national championship in Bloemfontein, representing Gauteng province as I lived in Daveyton at the time,” said Matika.
“I have always told him stories and shown him my pictures from back then. His dream is to represent SA internationally, something I was not able to do.
“Even now, as a part-time athlete, I sometimes take him with me to races. It’s a family thing and how we spend time together outside my shift work.”
The Mpumalanga department of education has named Khumalo the star of the province.
Michelle Banda
www.sowetan.co.za
