Ashley Erasmus

Ashley Erasmus

Personal information
Nationality	South African
Born	(2005-06-07) 7 June 2005 (age 20)
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	Shot put, Discus
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	Shot put: 18.17m (Douala, 2024) NR Discus: 53.92m (College Station, 2025)
Medal record Women's athletics Representing  South Africa African Games 2023 Accra Shot put African Championships 2024 Douala Shot put African U20 Championships 2023 Ndola Shot put 2023 Ndola Discus

Ashley Erasmus (born 7 June 2005) is a South African track and field athlete who won gold at the 2023 African Games and the 2024 African Championships in Athletics in the shot put. ^[1]

Early life

From Mpumalanga she was educated at Hoërskool Nelspruit. ^[2] She received a scholarship to attend University of Southern California. ^[3]

Career

A member or Mpumalanga Athletics, ^[4] Erasmus won gold in the shot put and the discus at the South African U18 Track And Field Championships in Potchefstroom. In the shot put competition she threw 18.15 metres (59.5 ft), nearly three metres clear of her nearest opponent, and comfortably clear of the previous South African youth record of 17.52 metres (57.5 ft) which was set by Lezaan Jordaan in Germiston in April 2012. In the discus she produced a personal best of 51.77 metres (169.8 ft). ^{[5] [6]}

Erasmus won gold in both the shot put and the discus at the African U20 Championships in Ndola, Zambia in 2023. ^[7] She became South African senior national champion in the shot put in 2023. ^[8]

Erasmus won shot put gold at the 2023 African Games in Accra in March 2024 with a personal best of 16.98 metres (55.7 ft). ^[9] She finished seventh in the discus at the same event with a throw of 51.85 metres (170.1 ft). ^[10] In April 2024, she won the shot put at the South African national championship in Pietermaritzburg with a 17.27 metres (56.7 ft) distance. ^[11] She finished third in the discus at the same event. ^[12] She won the gold medal in the shot put at the 2024 African Championships in Athletics in Douala, Cameroon in June 2024. ^[13]

In September 2025, she competed at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, Japan. ^[14]

References

1. "Ashley Erasmus". World Athletics. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
2. "Ashley Erasmus". Nelliesh.co.za. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
3. Lewis, Carla (19 January 2024). "Ashley gets scholarship from top university in USA". Netwerk24.com.
4. "Outstanding performance by Mpumalanga athletes at nationals". Cotizen.co.za. 14 April 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
5. "Viwe, Erasmus, Richardson Defy Weather To Deliver Double Gold, National Records In Potchefstroom". Athletics.Africa. 4 April 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
6. Pretorius, Wim (24 October 2022). "Nelspruit's Ashley Erasmus breaks SA under-18 shot put record". Netwerk24.com.
7. "Local athletes return from Zambian championships". Citizen.co.za. 10 May 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
8. "South African Championships". World Athletics. 30 March 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
9. "Bass-Bittaye completes sprint double and Meshesha breaks Games record in Accra". World Athletics. 23 March 2024. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
10. Kinnear, Mark (22 March 2024). "Ashley Erasmus wins gold in African Games". Citizen.co.za. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
11. "South African Championships - wonen's shot put". World Athletics. 18 April 2024. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
12. "South African Championships | Results | World Athletics". World Athletics. 18 April 2024. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
13. "African Athletics Championships". World Athletics. 21 June 2024. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
14. "World Athletics Championships, Tokyo 2025". World Athletics. 13 September 2025. Retrieved 21 September 2025.