Shirley Nekhubui and Udeme Okon emerged as the only two University of Johannesburg (UJ) gold medalists amidst a field of top African athletes at the Athletics South Africa (ASA) Grand Prix II held at UJ Athletics Stadium on Wednesday, 19 March 2025. The blazing Nekhubui swiftly claimed gold in the senior women’s 200m sprint with a time of 22.98 seconds.
Teammates Joviale Mbisha (23.57) and Chane Vermeulen (23.84) followed in second and third places, respectively, adding silver and bronze to UJ’s medal tally.
The event featured athletes from as far as Saudi Arabia, Kenya, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho and Zimbabwe, among other nations.
Nekhubui was UJ’s highlight for the night, adding a silver medal to her collection in the women’s 400m, clocking 51.42 seconds. UJ Athletics Club member Okon (45.27 seconds) led the charge in the senior men’s 400m. Lythe Pillay closely followed, securing silver in 45.74 seconds.
In the highly anticipated senior men’s 100m, Tsebo Matsoso earned a silver medal with a time of 10.12 seconds, narrowly missing gold to Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala (10.08 seconds).
The Grand Prix II was nothing short of crowd pulling performances as Tshwane University of Technology’s rising star Bayanda Walaza and hurdles star Tumi Ramokgopa stole the show. Walaza set a new South Africa U20 record, running the 200m in just 20.08 seconds after another 100m national record of 9.99 seconds at the first Grand Prix in Pretoria last weekend.
The UJ medalists:
Gold:
- Shirley Nekhubui (women’s 200m)
- Udeme Okon (men’s 400m).
Silver:
- Joviale Mbisha (women’s 200m)
- Shirley Nekhubui (women’s 400m)
- Lythe Pillay (men’s 400m)
- Maxime Chaumeton (men’s 1500m)
- Justin Louwrens (men’s high jump)
- Rose Xeyi (women’s long jump)
- Tsebo Matsoso (men’s 100m).
Bronze:
- Chane Vermeulen (women’s 200m)
- Thato Kgala (men’s triple jump).
TOTAL MEDAL COUNT: 11
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