Junior athlete, Ansume de Beer, made a spectacular breakthrough on Tuesday, breaking the national women's senior pole vault record.
Competing at the Fribourg International Meeting in Switzerland, 18-year-old De Beer took second place in the women's pole vault competition, clearing the bar at 4.50 metres. The only athlete who went higher was Lene Retzius of Norway who won the competition with a 4.60m clearance.
De Beer broke the 26-year-old South African and African record of 4.42m which was set by Elmarie Gerryts in Germany in June 2000. She also obliterated her own national U20 record of 4.30m which she achieved to win gold at the African Athletics Championships in Ghana earlier this year.
"We get super excited when records are broken, because it points to progress. It's even more of a thrill when a senior record is broken by someone still in the age groups. We congratulate Ansume for also reaching the podium, her coach and support staff for a job well done," said John Mathane, the Acting President of Athletics South Africa.