Blairgowrie canoeist earns half colours after representing Gauteng
The youngster just enjoys improving his time and strength while on the water.
A young canoeist was recently awarded his Gauteng half colours in canoeing and celebrated this with his home club at Emmarentia Dam.
This follows the Blairgowrie resident and Hoërskool Randburg Grade 8 learner, Daniel van Eeden, representing Gauteng at the South African Marathon Championships last year.
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There, Daniel competed in the U14 division in the championships at Hazelmere Dam, KwaZulu-Natal, and finished the 15.5km race in 1:32:00, coming in eighth position.
He also doubled up in the K2 (kayak two-person boat race), with his good friend Matthew Charter to finish in 1:26:00, as the fifth U14 finisher.
This follows Daniel winning the U14 division in the Gauteng Marathon Championships and doing well at other races in the province to earn selection for the SA Marathon Championships.
“I have been canoeing for three and a half years and my favourite thing about it is after time, I become faster and stronger after doing the work to get there,” Daniel told Randburg Sun after nationals.
“I do both sprint and marathon races, and I like them both. But I seem to lean more toward marathons because I have the strength for it.”
It was the chairperson of the Gauteng Canoe Union, Chris Erwee who presented Daniel with the provincial half colours at Dabulamanzi Canoe Club.
The sport of canoeing covers a wide range of disciplines from sprints (short or fast distance races and this is the Olympic discipline), as well as marathons (long, tough races where distances are different for the young and old but around 20km for competitive senior age group) and there’s surfski at the ocean, river paddling and white-water rapids, and canoe polo.
Most juniors start off with sprints, but as they become more experienced and enjoy the sport, and become fitter, they move into marathons or other opportunities which may attract them.
Those around him say Daniel has shown dedication and discipline, as well as a passion for the sport, so he should go far.
