At just 19, Nelson Mandela Bay sprinter Marko Ferreira has announced himself on the global stage.
As the dust settled this week, Ferreira reflected on achieving a bronze medal in the 100m final at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
Ferreira’s bronze was among the eight medals SA earned at the championships from August 5 to 9.
The junior sprinter ran a time of 10.16 seconds to finish third.
He made the podium with Tate Taylor of the US and Jamaica’s Gary Card, who won gold and silver, respectively.
“There was a lot of nerves going into that final — more than I have ever experienced.
“The whole goal was just to stay calm under the pressure and focus on what I needed to do,” Ferreira said.
“I’m really proud of myself; not just that I brought a medal back, but also that I have competed with the best of the best teenagers in the world and proved that I belong there.”
Ferreira qualified for the final after running consistent times of 10.11sec in the heats and 10.13sec in the semis.
The former Daniel Pienaar High pupil attributed his times to having reasonable starts and the ability to reach maximum velocity.
“It was a mixture of both my start and my top-end speed.
“In the heat, my start was good. However, in the semi and final, it was not that good, so every race had its own mistakes.”
Ferreira described the moment when he crossed the finish line and realised he had finished in a medal position as an emotional experience.
“There were a lot of mixed feelings going over the line, of course.
“I was really happy with it, but it was not my best performance. But it just motivates me to train harder.”
In June, Ferreira won the 100m at the 40th International de Montgeron-Essonne in France with a time of 10.04, equalling the meeting record.
He says competing at the meeting gave him confidence heading into the world championships.
“The win gave me a lot of confidence.
“It wasn’t just my first international race, but it was also against seniors, so when I got to the world juniors I did have the upper hand against my peers.”
The Emeris Nelson Mandela Bay student said he would now take a short break.
“It was a really great season. I could not have had a better season. I will only be competing next year again,” Ferreira said.
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