Justin Dekker receives KZN Young Achievers Award
"We thank all Courier readers for their support and special thank you to to Orange Grove Dairies, Epilepsy South Africa as our sponsors, plus family and friends"
Justin Dekker crowned his impressive showing in the world BMX Championships in the USA by winning a trophy at the KZN Young Achievers Award.
KZN Premier Willies Mchunu and other celebrities attended the awards, held in Durban earlier this month. The evening recognises young people in the Province who have achieved in their respected walks of life.
Dundee High matric student, Justin (18), is an epilepsy sufferer and was nominated for an award by Epilepsy SA for whom he is also an ambassador.
More on Justin:
Our Justin prepares for BMX World Championships
Justin finishes in top five of first round of BMX World Championships …
“I feel very honoured to have received this trophy. It means a lot. But right now, it is all about studying as our matric trial exams start in September and I missed a week of school while we were in South Carolina for the World Championships,” Justin told the Courier. He and dad, Grant, were two of the 30 South Africans who competed in the Championships where around 3 500 riders from around the world cycled for glory. Fighting stifling humidity in the South Carolina summer, Justin achieved his goal that he set last year by finishing in the top 50% of his age group, men 17 to 24 years. “He still has five more years in this group so next year, in Azerbaijan, his goal is to finish in the top 25%.”
This year, the Dekkers were better prepared than in 2016 when the World Championships were held in Colombia.
Grant, a veteran BMX’er, raced in a new age group of 50 years and over and made the semi finals where he finished seventh. This means he is 14th best in the world in that group. He was the only non-American to reach the semi-final and took a lot of ‘light-hearted ragging’ from the US riders.
This year, the Dekkers were better prepared than in 2016 when the World Championships were held in Colombia.
“Our training comprised of short, intense sessions aimed at building power. A BMX race only lasts 30 seconds so it is all about extreme capacity built into short spells.”
Justin did high-performance training with the South African BMX Commission’s High-Performance coach, Jonathan Chislett and found his days long and tiring but very rewarding.
“We thank all Courier readers for their support and special thank you to to Orange Grove Dairies, Epilepsy South Africa as our sponsors, plus family and friends,” concluded Grant.
