Viwe Jingqi (born 17 February 2005) is a South African track and field athlete. In 2024 she became South African national champion over

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

Early life

Born in Engcobo, a rural village in the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

to her mother Nothando and father Zweledinga, she attended TuksSport High School in Pretoria. Her older brother Vukile died in a car accident in 2021.

Career

She trained at the University of Pretoria before with her sprint coach Paul Gorries at North-West University, she was South African U18 champion over both

and

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

in 2022. In August 2022, as a 17-year-old, she qualified for both the 100m and 200m finals at the

2022 World Athletics U20 Championships The 2022 World Athletics U20 Championships, also known colloquially by its former official title, the World Junior Championships, was an international athletics competition for athletes qualifying as juniors (born no earlier than 1 January 2003 ...

Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,227,642 residents according to the 2018 census. The city spans with of urban area, making Cali the second ...

, Colombia. The year before previously, aged only 16, she had progressed to the 200m semifinals at the

2021 World Athletics U20 Championships The 2021 World Athletics U20 Championships, also known as the World Junior Championships, was an international athletics competition for athletes qualifying as juniors (born no earlier than 1 January 2002), which was held from 18 to 22 August 2 ...

in Nairobi, Kenya. In 2022, she was nominated for South African Junior Athlete of the Year. She suffered an illness and injury-hit 2023, including the forced removal of her

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, which limited her capacity for racing. She won the 100 metres at the South African National championships in April 2024 in a time of 11.23 seconds.

References

2005 births Living people People from Engcobo Local Municipality South African female sprinters 21st-century South African women 21st-century South African people {{SouthAfrica-athletics-bio-stub