‘PEOPLE FACING GREATER STRUGGLES’

THERE are more important things than the Olympic Games. That’s the view of South African-born Gold Coast kayaker Jean van der Westhuyzen. The Bond University bachelor of business student was mere days away from Australian selection before the Tokyo 2020 Olympics were postponed due to the coronavirus. “It’s super disappointing. Four years of preparation, four years of training, four years of hard work, and now I am not going,” van der Westhuyzen said. “I totally understand why we are not going and I think Australia as a nation is doing 100 per cent the right thing. “But it is still disappointing. It would have been my first Games and my teammate that I’m paddling with, his first Games as well. “Hopefully we can still make it a reality, albeit next year.” It’s an incredibly mature outlook for a 21-year-old who has just had his lifelong dream shattered. As a child, van der Westhuyzen would stay up until the early hours of the morning in his hometown of Franschhoek, just outside Cape Town, to watch his hero Ken Wallace and other Australian paddlers compete. He moved to the Gold Coast to study at Bond but also for a better quality of life – and to train with his heroes at Varsity Lakes. “I sacrificed a lot to get here but so has my teammate and every other athlete,” he said. “It’s a big shock but so understandable. “Above all else, everyone’s safety is of the most importance. “We need to realise that we must come together as a human race and do this together. “People are facing greater struggles than not going to the Olympics.” “It’s all about perspective. Kayaking, the Olympics and every other sport, it doesn’t trump our health.” Van der Westhuyzen – like all athletes – now faces an uncertain future. But the kayaker is buoyed by the fact his family have now joined him in Australia and they can continue their new life on the Gold Coast. “It’s nice to have the family together,” he said.