After delivering an impeccable performance in the South African Gauteng Canoe Union (GCU) sprint competition at Victoria Lake, Blairgowrie based paddler Daniel van Eeden (14) was chosen to represent South Africa at the Olympic Hopes event in Hungary.
He was the only U15 boy to make the cut with a good few seconds to spare. He stated that competing at the Olympic Hopes has been a dream ever since he started canoeing, and it is a very special event for him.
Read more: Local canoeist called up for the Olympic Hopes
At the Olympics he competed in the men’s U15 1000m and finished in the top four, improving his time from the South African Sprints by 21 seconds. He also competed in the men’s 500m, but that didn’t go as well, due to fatigue from the previous races.
He explained that it was an unforgettable experience and a very tough competition throughout the age groups, especially his age group, with 8 heats.
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“I would love to go again next year. It was a huge privilege and an honour to represent my country internationally. The feeling of traveling internationally for my sport was one of the best experiences I’ve had this year. As for the actual racing, I was nervous about not achieving the qualifying times needed to progress to the semifinal. Little did I know I would finish in the top four for the 1000m in my heats.”
He added that even though his 500m race didn’t go as planned, overall, he is very happy with his performance.
Daniel is planning on doing a few long-distance races for the end of the year to help build on his base before he starts training for the South African Sprints again.
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