'There's no doubt he has the talent to achieve big things' - Affies old boy Kusche backs 1:52 800m youngster Emil Els

Following in the long line of promising middle distance prospects produced by Die Afrikaanse Höer Seunskool including sub 4 minute miler George Kusche, Olympic 800m athlete Edmund du Plessis and the recently matriculated Werner Gouws, Emil Els is the next in line to sit atop the Affies middle distance throne.

A 3:48.48 1500m performer at his best, the 17-year-old was one of the standout performers at the Curro Podium Grand Finale on Valentine's Day as he lit up the track in the Boys U17 800m, clocking 1:52.06 to win the race by more than four seconds and eclipse the meeting record set by his former schoolmate who is now in his first year at the North West University.

Els also won the silver medal in the 1500m at the 2025 CAA U18 in Nigeria. Photo Credit: Supplied.

"I'm feeling good," he told SuperSport Schools after the top class performance. "I'm very grateful to be here. I ran a nice time. It wasn't exactly the time I was looking for, but I was able to break the time set by my previous training partner Werner (Gouws) who was in Matric here at Affies last year. So that was very cool."

Els' two lap blitz impressed another Affies old boy who spent the same weekend running a new career best 42km time in a dominant victory at the Balwin Run Series Peninsula Marathon. Kusche's 2:15:02 run in The Mother City is the result of an impressive track career which started at the Pretoria-based school and ended on the highly competitive United States NCAA College Circuit where he ran 13:28.95 over 5000m. The Nedbank Running Club top runner praised Els with these words of encouragement.

Olerato Masiloane helps Els after he collapsed metres before the finish line at the 2024 ASA cross Country Championships. Els' collapse cost him the gold medal and instead of running past to take silver, Masiloane sacrificed his own finishing time to assist his Athletics Gauteng North teammate. Photo Credit: Cecilia van Bers.

"School athletics is where you fail in love with running, so obviously it's extremely important. I've seen Emil Els and his extremely talented. My advice to him would be to stay patient and keep on doing what you’re doing. Sometimes you're gonna get results quickly, sometimes it will take a while, but there’s no doubt that he has the talent to achieve big things. And it's not just Emil, there are a lot of guys coming up now and it’s great to see."

It means that all eyes will be on Els once again this year as he looks to improve upon a 2025 season during which he did the SA U16 middle distance double at the ASA Age Group Championships in Cape Town. But in true Affies fashion, Els’ fast feet are firmly on the ground saying only that he prefers to focus on the process leaving the outcome to take care of itself.

"It's a good time for this time of in the season. I'm just gonna stay consistent, work hard and hopefully stay healthy.  Hopefully I can run faster times in the near future. I'm very grateful."