From Sleeping on a Bus to SA Champion: Teenage Athlete’s Incredible Week of Perseverance
He slept on a bus for two nights on the way to Zimbabwe, arrived just a day before his race, was unexpectedly told to compete in an event he had not prepared for – and still came home a South African champion.
For 17-year-old Gugulethu Thanjekwayo, representing South Africa at the 2026 Confederation of School Sport Associations of Southern Africa (COSSASA) Games in Zimbabwe this past week was supposed to be a celebration of years of hard work.
Instead, the journey tested his patience and resilience long before he stepped onto the track.
After the funding challenges that threatened to prevent him from travelling were eventually overcome with assistance from local businesses supporting Nkangala Athletics Academy (NAA), Thanjekwayo finally made his way to Zimbabwe.
But the trip itself proved to be another obstacle.
Two nights on a bus
Travelling by bus through Botswana, Thanjekwayo and his teammates encountered lengthy delays at the border.
“We travelled by bus via Botswana. We arrived at the border at around 12pm, but the border was closed until the following day at 6am,” Thanjekwayo told SizaNazo365.
The journey became even more difficult when they reached the Botswana-Zimbabwe border later that evening.
“There were many delays on the road. We reached the border between Zimbabwe and Botswana at around 9pm, but the workers had already knocked off and the border was locked,” he explained.
The athletes were forced to spend the night on the bus.
According to Thanjekwayo, the experience was physically demanding.
“So we slept two nights in a bus. It was a huge challenge because I remember my body was painful afterwards.”
The teenager eventually arrived in Zimbabwe on the eve of the competition, leaving little time to recover from the exhausting journey.
And then came another unexpected setback.
Prepared for 3 000m, told to run 1 500m
Thanjekwayo had spent months preparing specifically for the 3 000m, the event in which he had earned his place in the South African team.
But upon arrival, he says the athletes were informed that the 3 000m was no longer on the programme and that he would instead have to compete in the 1 500m.
The change left him facing an event for which he had not specifically prepared.
“I don’t know what happened because it was not explained to us why the 3 000m was no longer there,” he said.
“The problem was that I had spent months preparing for the 3 000m, not the 1 500m. It affected me a bit because I had not prepared for it. My focus was always on the 3 000m.”
Despite the circumstances, Thanjekwayo lined up for the 1 500m and finished fourth.
It was a strong performance considering the circumstances, but the drama was not over.
The 3 000m was eventually restored to the programme.
For Thanjekwayo, it was finally the race he had prepared for.
And this time, he delivered.
A bronze medal for South Africa
Despite the disrupted preparations and gruelling journey, the Nkangala Athletics Academy runner produced a determined performance to win bronze in the 3 000m, securing his first medal while representing South Africa.
For an athlete who had only days earlier been unsure whether he would even make the trip to Zimbabwe, it was a remarkable achievement.
Thanjekwayo admits he believes he could have returned with more than one medal had the circumstances been different.
But he was still proud of what he had accomplished.
Then came another race
There was barely time to celebrate.
Immediately after the COSSASA Games, Thanjekwayo flew back to South Africa and travelled to Pretoria to compete at the South African Cross Country Championships on Saturday.
Once again, the circumstances were far from ideal.
His time in Zimbabwe meant he had been unable to prepare properly for the cross-country race, and after the gruelling journey there and back, fatigue was another concern.
“I could not prepare for the cross country because I was in Zimbabwe, and when I was there I could not find time to prepare,” he said.
“I doubted myself a bit before the race, but I told myself that I must stay focused and give it my best.”
The support of Nkangala Athletics Academy proved important once again.
Rather than having the teenager make the long journey back by bus, the academy arranged a flight for him, giving him at least some opportunity to rest before the national championship.
Thanjekwayo believes that decision made a significant difference.
“If I was travelling in a bus again, I don’t think I was going to make it on time and rest a little bit before the race,” he said.
Under 17 6km Athletics South Africa Champion Gugulethu Thanjekwayo, MP, 2nd Junior Noah, CGA and 3rd Keratiwe Legong, LIMA (Image: Nkangala Athletics Academy/Facebook)
From exhaustion to SA champion
Despite everything he had been through, Thanjekwayo lined up in Pretoria and produced another outstanding performance.
He won the Under-17 6km race to become the 2026 South African Cross Country Champion.
In the space of just days, the Grade 11 learner had gone from sleeping on a bus during a difficult journey to Zimbabwe, dealing with an unexpected change of event, winning a COSSASA bronze medal and then returning home to claim a national championship title.
It was a remarkable conclusion to a week that could easily have ended very differently.
But Thanjekwayo says the experience taught him a lesson that goes beyond athletics.
“When it’s tough, I like to push myself harder because I don’t like to give up,” he said.
“It means a lot to me that I represented South Africa for the first time and came back with a medal.”
From the funding uncertainty before his departure to the physical exhaustion of the journey, the unexpected event change and the lack of preparation for the cross-country championship, Thanjekwayo faced one obstacle after another.
Yet he kept going.
“From the whole situation I have learned that it’s very important to always be patient, even in very difficult times, to keep pushing and never give up.”
For a 17-year-old still balancing school and athletics, it may prove to be one of the most valuable victories of his young career.