Furthermore, he has never represented South Africa at the Olympics as he does not compete on Sundays, due to his religious views.

On 22 April 2017, Harmse won his twenty-second consecutive national title at the South African Championships in Potchefstroom – a record unmatched by any athlete at the country's national championships.

He achieved this by besting Renaldo Frechou, whom himself gained the lead on his last throw with a distance of 70.30 meters.

A 44-year-old Harmse extended his world record to 23 consecutive national titles with a throw of 70.62 m at the 2018 South African Championships, forcing Makhethe to settle for second place.

[3][4][5] His streak finally ended at the 2019 edition, where Harmse took the silver medal with 71.70 m as Makhethe had a personal best throw of 72.25 m to win gold.