Distance runner Tayla Kavanagh produced a spectacular effort to win the women’s 5 000m gold medal, and sprinter Joviale Mbisha successfully defended her national 100m title on opening day of the ASA Senior Track and Field Championships at Coetzenburg Stadium in Stellenbosch, Cape Town on Thursday, 16 April 2026.
Mbisha had to dig deep to win the women’s 100m final. The Central Gauteng Athletics sprinter dipped on the line in 11.55, with former SA champion Viwe Jingqi credited with the same time in second place. Gabriella Marais grabbed bronze in 11.72 in the colours of Athletics Free State.
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“Usually I go into races at national level as an underdog, but I don’t view myself as an underdog. Maybe other people do, but I always back myself,” Mbisha said.
“I’m very happy to run with all the girls in a full line-up, and it feels amazing to win again.”
2026 SA Senior 100m Champion, Joviale Mbisha
Kavanagh was superb in the women’s 5 000m final, completely outclassing her opposition as she stormed to victory in a personal best of 14:58.52 after setting a relentless pace that left everyone else struggling to keep up, earning gold for KwaZulu-Natal Athletics and climbing to second place in the all-time national rankings over the 5 000m distance.
Kyla Jacobs, turning out for Western Province Athletics, took the runner-up spot in 15:36.33.
“I ran a really big PB today, so it was nice to get that, but also nice to know I was pretty close to the national record of 14:44.05 held by Elana Meyer. I think sometimes athletes can be a little bit sad at the end, saying ‘I just missed it’ but I’m quite happy to walk away with a personal best and to know how close I was to the record,” Kavanagh said.
“It keeps me excited to know what I can do, so I’m going to try not be too upset about that and rather celebrate how close I was, and maybe that’s the next goal,” said Kavanagh. “You always got to keep that in sight and just be proud of what you’ve done.”
Versatile athlete Colette Uys secured gold in the women’s discus throw, landing the implement at 57.86m, which was more than five metres further than her nearest opponent.
Original Copy: Athletics SA, with editing by gsport
Main Photo Caption: Joviale Mbisha (right) edges Viwe Jingqi (centre) to defend her title in the women’s 100m Final during Day 1 of the ASA Senior Track and Field Championships at Stellenbosch University’s Coetzenburg Athletics Stadium on Thursday, 16 April 2026. All Photos: Cecilia van Bers / Athletics SA
Photo 2 Caption: Tayla Kavanagh set a personal best to be crowned the 2026 5000m champion on Day 1 of the ASA Senior Track and Field Champs in Stellenbosch.
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