After being crowned the U13 laser-run world champion, Marco Prins believes he now knows how to push himself to the limit.
The 12-year-old Fairland resident represented South Africa against 19 other countries at the 2017 Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM) Laser-Run World Championships.
South Africa hosted the tournament for the first time, at Cape Town Stadium on 14 and 15 October.
Laser-run forms part of the Olympic modern pentathlon. This includes horse riding, fencing, swimming, running and shooting. It is fast-paced and features running several laps with laser target shooting in between the laps.
Fellow Fairland resident, Diaan Rooseboom (11) took sixth position, also in the U13 event.
For Prins, his greatest challenge was just believing that he could be world champion.
“I pushed myself to my limits and it paid off, to win a world championship title is a dream come true for me,” he said.
Marco added that he was now much more confident in his abilities, and aims to take a well-deserved break before the athletics season starts again.
Rooseboom’s result was a remarkable achievement considering he was racing against athletes who were a year older than him.
He said this was challenging, but was very happy with his time and shooting.
“The tournament takes you out of your comfort zone, and brings out the best in you as an athlete,” he said.
Graham Burnett, the secretary of Gauteng Modern Pentathlon, said, “All the athletes can be very proud of themselves for putting in the effort and delivering results to ensure that South Africa is recognised as one of the best in the world.”
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