Ambitious Helpmekaar Kollege learner bags a medal at the Puma School of Speed event

RUIMSIG – The Puma School of Speed is renowned for producing young, talented athletes who see themselves as being the next Usain Bolt and that is where Handre Jonker (16) won his first major competition.

He completed the race in 00:48:06:07 – a personal best for Jonker who is keen to take up athletics as a career, following in his father’s footsteps. “My dad was a 400m hurdles athlete as well as a player for the 7s Blitzbokke in his heydey and my sister is also a 400m athlete,” he explained.

Recently Jonker junior ran the 400m under U18 race for his school Helpmekaar Kollege in Braamfontein where he is currently doing Grade 11.

“The race was tough but fortunately I made it; I made sure I got into the zone, pacing myself and ensured that I was at the right place every 50 metres,” he said.

The Roodepoort resident pointed out that he spent a huge amount of time training to prepare himself for this race and said he competed against himself.

Specialising in 400m and 800m, Jonker concentrated on the 400m by following a strict regime that included a special diet, getting enough sleep and warming up correctly.

“I train for an hour four days a week and I make sure I train very early. I catch the 5am bus to make sure I have enough time to do my warm-ups properly,” he explained.

He added that he hopes to one day catch up with the likes of Wade van Niekerk and explained that he was prepared to work hard until he reached the Olympics, one day.

He attributed his success to his coach JD van der Merwe, who also trained middle-distance runner Hezekiél Sepeng who represented South Africa at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

“I love being an athlete because it teaches me moral values and teaches me how to communicate with other people better,” he said.

Like the Roodepoort Northsider on Facebook by clicking on the link for the best local news.