AFRICAN HEROES: FANIE VAN DER MERWE
Fanie van der Merwe is aiming to defend the two gold medals he won at the Paralympics in September - "the highlight of my life" - four years from now in London. The South African sprinter and cerebral palsy sufferer, who turns 25 in February, was one of the stars of the Beijing Paralympics in September, as his country finished a superb sixth in the medals table, 21 places above the next best African performers, Kenya.
Forget Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps for a moment: the Stellenbosch University sports scientist stormed to victory in the T37 100 and 200 metres, smashing records along the way. His team won 21 gold, three silver and six bronze for a total of 30 - twice as many as they gleaned in Athens in the 2004 Games.
Together with the achievements of amputees Oscar Pistorius, who won the T44 100, 200 and 400 metres, and S9 competitor Natalie du Toit, who garnered five golds in the pool, van der Merwe's double glory has been well received back in his homeland.
In his first Paralympic Games, against the backdrop of a packed Beijing National Stadium, or the 'bird's nest', he won the 100 metres in a Games record of 11.83 seconds. Days later he sparkled in the 200 metres, finishing in 23.84 seconds - four-tenths of a second quicker than Mohammed Allek's world record that had not been broken since 2003.
"I keep one medal under my pillow," said a beaming van der Merne who was also awarded R130,000 (£8,325) from sponsors for winning his two golds. "No, it's next to my bed really. The other one is at my parents' house.
"I'm very humble and grateful for the experience - it was an amazing opportunity and easily the highlight of my life so far. I've never experienced anything quite like it. I had watched the Beijing Olympics and saw Usain Bolt achieve what he did and I wondered what it would be like.
"When I arrived in China it was unbelievable. It's a surreal feeling when you are there in the Olympic Village. Just walking to the stadium on the way and seeing all the people was very overwhelming."
Van der Merne just missed out on representing his country four years earlier in Greece, but having only taken up the sport seriously in 2003 he now concedes that he was too inexperienced. Though it hurt at the time, his patience and hard work has more than paid off.
"I was disappointed not to make it into the final team back then but I didn't expect to do all that well as it was my first year and I was young - only 20," he continues. "But it made me keener to succeed at the Beijing Games.
"For the finals I tried not to worry about the crowd and focus on the race. I prayed a lot - I knew that the Lord would be with me. The night before each race I would think about how I wanted it to go the next day. It was very difficult to fall asleep!"
The third year student added: "The whole team did brilliantly well. We were very together and would encourage each other. Every night we would spend time together - it was a very special feeling. I will never forget how it felt - those moments will stay with me forever. And if everything goes well I would like to run in London in three years.
"The Games were well broadcast in South Africa and people were going crazy because of how successful we were. Not a lot of people knew about the Paralympics before Beijing so for the sport in South Africa it was great - hopefully it will encourage other disabled youngsters to get involved."
Fanie van der Merwe is aiming to defend the two gold medals he won at the Paralympics in September - "the highlight of my life" - four years from now in London. The South African sprinter and cerebral palsy sufferer, who turns 25 in February, was one of the stars of the Beijing Paralympics in September, as his country finished a superb sixth in the medals table, 21 places above the next best African performers, Kenya.
Forget Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps for a moment: the Stellenbosch University sports scientist stormed to victory in the T37 100 and 200 metres, smashing records along the way. His team won 21 gold, three silver and six bronze for a total of 30 - twice as many as they gleaned in Athens in the 2004 Games.
Together with the achievements of amputees Oscar Pistorius, who won the T44 100, 200 and 400 metres, and S9 competitor Natalie du Toit, who garnered five golds in the pool, van der Merwe's double glory has been well received back in his homeland.
In his first Paralympic Games, against the backdrop of a packed Beijing National Stadium, or the 'bird's nest', he won the 100 metres in a Games record of 11.83 seconds. Days later he sparkled in the 200 metres, finishing in 23.84 seconds - four-tenths of a second quicker than Mohammed Allek's world record that had not been broken since 2003.
"I keep one medal under my pillow," said a beaming van der Merne who was also awarded R130,000 (£8,325) from sponsors for winning his two golds. "No, it's next to my bed really. The other one is at my parents' house.
"I'm very humble and grateful for the experience - it was an amazing opportunity and easily the highlight of my life so far. I've never experienced anything quite like it. I had watched the Beijing Olympics and saw Usain Bolt achieve what he did and I wondered what it would be like.
"When I arrived in China it was unbelievable. It's a surreal feeling when you are there in the Olympic Village. Just walking to the stadium on the way and seeing all the people was very overwhelming."
Van der Merne just missed out on representing his country four years earlier in Greece, but having only taken up the sport seriously in 2003 he now concedes that he was too inexperienced. Though it hurt at the time, his patience and hard work has more than paid off.
"I was disappointed not to make it into the final team back then but I didn't expect to do all that well as it was my first year and I was young - only 20," he continues. "But it made me keener to succeed at the Beijing Games.
"For the finals I tried not to worry about the crowd and focus on the race. I prayed a lot - I knew that the Lord would be with me. The night before each race I would think about how I wanted it to go the next day. It was very difficult to fall asleep!"
The third year student added: "The whole team did brilliantly well. We were very together and would encourage each other. Every night we would spend time together - it was a very special feeling. I will never forget how it felt - those moments will stay with me forever. And if everything goes well I would like to run in London in three years.
"The Games were well broadcast in South Africa and people were going crazy because of how successful we were. Not a lot of people knew about the Paralympics before Beijing so for the sport in South Africa it was great - hopefully it will encourage other disabled youngsters to get involved."
Labels: Beijing Olympics, Fanie van der Merwe, Paralympics
Go Fanie! We're so proud of you "Mr Onrus 2006":)
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11:36 am