Naude sets sights on international competition

THE South African athletics fraternity is sitting up and taking notice of Amy Naude following her impressive 400m silver medal at the recent African Youth Games in Algeria.

The youngster enjoyed the small taste of international competition that the event gave her.

The Elite Athlete Development Programme star might be a relatively new name in running circles, however with the support of the team at the Prime Human Performance Institute she hopes to continue her impressive rise.

“The African Youth Games was the highest ranking event that I have ever taken part in. I didn’t run my personal best on the day but I am happy with how things are going for me,” the 16 year-old Ballito resident said.

The team at Prime, which includes South African Olympic Team doctor Dr Kevin Subban, have worked hard with Naude getting her physically ready for competition and making sure that she is in the best shape she can be when competing.

“Gavin Muir has been helping me a lot with my rehabilitation and Calvin Shipley has been working with me from a physiotherapy point of view. Dr Subban has been involved with my check-ups,” she added.

Naude is beginning to come into her own and this silver medal could be the start of a blossoming career; however her passion and enthusiasm for the athletics developed much earlier on in her life.

“I have always loved running and remember running in races from pre-school. When I was 14 years old I started running on the track and have been competing ever since then,” she said.

Under the guidance of coach Victor Vaz, Naude will be eyeing more races against strong opposition. Getting to the Youth Olympic Games in Argentina later this year will be a good opportunity for her to test herself against the best in the world in her age division.

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