Jansen van Vuuren heads to Slovakia
Afrikaanse Hoërskool Germiston’s Helen Jansen van Vuuren is set to compete in the 2019 Olympic Hopes.
Helen Jansen van Vuuren, a Grade Nine learner from Afrikaanse Hoërskool Germiston, is set to compete in the 2019 Olympic Hopes in Slovakia next month.
Jansen van Vuuren became involved in water sports because of her love for sailing.
When she was selected for the 2016 Optimist African Championships in Angola, she decided to take up canoeing to tighten her core.
Little did she know that this decision would mean three years later she would be part of an Olympic team heading to Zemník Canoeing Sports Centre to race in the Danube River against competitors from 30 countries in the 2019 Olympic Hopes.
The event, organised by the European Canoeing Association, is for athletes aged between 15 and 17 years old.
“When I first took up canoeing I capsized quite a few times during training,” said Jansen van Vuuren.
“But, despite all the difficulties, I really enjoyed the sport and was determined to become better at it.”
As her canoeing career progressed and her skills improved, Jansen van Vuuren joined the Gauteng Canoe Union School League and Victoria Lake Canoe Club and participated in many races with distances ranging from 200m to 5km.
“I joined the Victoria Lake Canoe Club time trials in 2017 to better my time and to work on my strokes.
“I did not do well in the school league in 2017, but by the middle of 2018 I started performing well in my canoeing.
“This built up my confidence and I became obsessed and wanted to train every day.
“My goal was to become a canoeist at national level.”
That dream came true when Jansen van Vuuren made the provincial team to take part in the SA Marathon Championships held in St Francis Bay, in Eastern Cape in 2018.
At the championships Jansen van Vuuren and her partner Sisanda Mthabela placed third with a time of one hour, 30 minutes and 24 seconds in the K2 races.
In the K1 race she picked her first bronze medal in a time of one hour and 28 minutes.
“I capsized during that 16km race,” she recalled.
“I was angry, lost and frustrated, but I used that energy to catch up to the rest of the girls.
“In the end I was excited to have made it into the podium finishes at my first national championships.”
The year ended on an even better note when she was awarded the most improved female canoeist for the year in K1 events, as well as the top paddlers of the year for girls in the same category at the Gauteng Canoe Union School League annual prize-giving.
In preparation for Slovakia, Jansen van Vuuren is working on her starting and finishing techniques.
Jansen van Vuuren needs to cover various costs for this international trip and is in need of sponsorship.
Individuals or companies who would like to sponsor her can call her parents Beth and John on 083 328 4520 or send an email to john.jansenvanvuuren@standardbank.co.za.
ALSO READ:
Local youngster to take on SA Marathon Championships
Paddlers make a splash in the Flat Race
Have a story?
Contact the newsroom by emailing: Melissa Hart (Editor) germistoncitynews@caxton.co.za or Leigh Hodgson (News Editor) leighh@caxton.co.za or Kgotsofalang Mashilo (journalist) kgotsofalangm@caxton.co.za
Also follow us on:
