Help pours in for athlete
A Hanover Park pupil is set to chase athletic dreams
CAPE Flats teen Carl van Reenen will be running in the same brand of kit as his sports idol, Olympic champion Wayde van Niekerk, trains in.
KFM Breakfast show host Ryan O’Connor said that after reading in the Cape Argus of how the Hanover Park teen excelled in athletics, despite not having the proper kit, he had felt inspired and wanted to help.
“I was so inspired by the story. It’s an incredible piece, amazing seeing him running in his school shoes which was basically all he had.
“How he has sacrificed so much for something that he is passionate about. I wanted to make sure he got all the kit he needed,” he said.
O’Connor said he had been able to secure an entire running kit, the same kit that Van Niekerk, his idol, owns.
“Because he loves adidas and Wayde, it was obvious that we needed to get him the whole kit, including shoes, the tracksuit, everything,” said O’Connor.
During an interview on his breakfast show yesterday, O’Connor called Cape Town-born soccer star, Benni McCarthy.
“Benni said he was amazed by this young man. He was blown away,” he said.
O’Connor said the kit would be handed over at his school, Mount View High, on Monday.
The 17-year-old Carl has been hailed as the “next big thing” by athletics coach Tasriek Williams.
He said that after the pupil broke the school’s 100m, 200m sprint and relay records, they knew Carl needed training.
“Our young men today of 14, 15 walk around with guns in the community. Carl is different, he chose a different path,” said Williams.
“Carl’s first year was an inspiration for me as a coach.
“I took him under my wing and started working with him because I saw the potential.
“Coming from primary school, he already had the mindset of becoming a Western Province sportsman,” he said. – Staff Reporter