Almost 15 years after the last documented competitive track mile in Eastern Province, one of athletics’ most iconic events returned on Saturday, producing exciting racing, promising performances and a finish between two young athletes that had spectators on their feet.
EP Athletics hosted the opening event of its new three-meeting 1 Mile series at Gelvandale Stadium on Saturday, in conjunction with the Northern Areas Legacy 10km Road Race & 5km Fun Run.
The series provides athletes from 11 years through to masters with an opportunity to race the classic distance, while creating a pathway towards the SA 1 Mile Road Running Championships.
But Saturday also represented the revival of an event with a remarkable history in Gqeberha.
The fastest performance of the meeting came from 21-year-old Keanu Welch of Varsity College, who won the Open Men’s race in 4 min 27 sec .39
Welch, who has represented EP at national level and has competed in both the 1,500m and 3,000m steeplechase, set an impressive early benchmark for the new series.
Andile Motwani, of Nedbank, followed in 4:37.18, while 44-year-old Xolisa Ndlumbini, of Transnet AC, showed the strength of the masters contingent with an excellent 4:51.33.
Avenathi Antoni, of Sibaleka, who has previously represented EP at the ASA Cross Country Championships, won the junior men’s mile in 4:46.55.
Teammate Senzo Ndzotoyi was close behind in 4:48.32, with Framesby’s Guerra Ntuli third in 4:50.22.
Only 3.67 seconds separated the first three.
Grey High’s Matthew Kingwill broke the five-minute barrier to win the boys’ 14 to 16 category in 4:55.21.
Sibaleka’s Linamandla Zibi also dipped under five minutes, finishing second in 4:57.15.
Kylie Dorfling, of Die Brandwag Hoërskool, produced the fastest female performance of the meeting, winning the girls’ 14 to 16 category in 5:43.28.
One of the loudest reactions of the morning was reserved for two of the youngest competitors.
Handhaaf’s Zack Benn, 10, and Joel Luke Bradfield, 12, of Grey Junior, produced a thrilling finish in the boys’ 11 to 13 mile.
The youngsters entered the final stages locked in battle and as they raced towards the line, spectators rose to their feet, cheering them home.
Benn eventually prevailed in 5:24.53, with Bradfield finishing in 5:25.33.
It was a memorable moment in the first meeting of the new series and perhaps the clearest illustration of why EPA has brought the mile back.
The event is not only about celebrating the past, but also about giving another generation of EP athletes the opportunity to create their own history.
In the girls’ 11 to 13 race, Mia Schellink, of Lorraine Primary, took victory in 6:09.34, while Jaydene Tee, of Framesby, won the junior women’s category in 6:09.02.
The mile has a special connection with athletics in Gqeberha.
On March 11 1987, Johan Fourie ran 3:50.82 in Gqeberha, establishing an SA mile record that would survive for 27 years.
The race became part of SA middle-distance folklore, with Fourie leading home Victor Radebe, Deon Brummer, Monde Tutani, Henning Gericke and junior Jacques van Rensburg, as six South Africans broke four minutes in the same race.
Fourie’s national record finally fell in 2014 when Johan Cronje ran 3:50.70 in Eugene, Oregon.
Cronje himself forms part of Gqeberha’s later Mile history.
On December 8 2011, the Yellow Pages Summer Series visited Westbourne Oval, where Amos Mkhuseli Nyongo won the mile in 4:08.81, narrowly defeating Cronje, who clocked 4:08.97.
Just 0.16 seconds separated them.
Historical athletics results are not comprehensively digitised, so it cannot be stated definitively that no mile was contested locally afterwards.
However, the 2011 Westbourne Oval race is the most recent competitive running mile in Eastern Province located in available records to date.
That makes its revival in 2026 particularly meaningful.
Nearly four decades after Fourie’s record-breaking run, young athletes are once again discovering a distance that once produced some of the most memorable performances in SA middle distance running right here in the city.
EPA Track and Field chair Janine Whittal, a former provincial track athlete, believes reconnecting athletes with events such as the mile is as much about creating future opportunities and recognising heritage.
“There is incredible history behind the mile in EP, but bringing it back is really about the next generation,” Whittal said.
“Watching two young boys racing for the line with spectators on their feet showed exactly what athletics should be about.
“We want our young athletes to know the history, but more importantly, we want to give them the opportunity to write the next chapter.”
Attention now turns to League 2 at Westbourne Oval on Friday October 23, a fitting return to the venue that hosted Nyongo and Cronje’s memorable mile in 2011.
The series culminates with the EPA 1 Mile Championship at Westbourne Oval on November 27. — EP Track and Field
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