He had a dream to compete in the 2010 Junior World Championships in
He had dreamed of the moment forever: walking into the stadium in
The qualifying time for the 110m hurdles was 13.90;
Werner ran a PB of 13.87.
OPENING CEREMONY
The opening ceremony was something Werner will remember forever. Youngsters from all over the world came together at an indoor track next to the stadium where the Games were held before marching into the stadium. “It felt like the Olympics!
I knew some of the athletes from other countries as I competed against some of them last year. We all got along so well.
This year the South Africans became very good friends with athletes from
PUTTING THE WRONG FOOT FORWARD
Unfortunately Werner did not perform at his best as he had broken a small bone in his foot only days before he had to compete. “I was with a friend and I was wearing sandals.
Just as I wanted to get into a car, I slipped and stepped into a ditch! I immediately knew I broke a little bone as the same happened last year while wearing the same shoes!” Werner used painkillers to try and manage the pain and got some physiotherapy, but it still had an influence on his performance. “It was not sore but I could feel that I lacked strength in my foot when competing.” Despite this Werner missed going through to the semi-finals by only 0.1sec!
SUPPORT
Werner’s parents as well as his coach, Irma Reyneke (a former 400m and 400m hurdles Springbok) supported Werner at the Games. “Initially when I heard about his foot I thought he was joking! Then I got angry, but we all accepted it and made the best of the situation,” says Irma, who believes Werner has the ability to become a South African record holder. She has been coaching Werner for a little over a year. For her the highlight of the Games was watching the 110m final hurdles event.
“These kids are all so good. There is very little difference between them. The finals were so exciting because the favourites did not win!”
NEW FRIENDS
Werner has made many new friends and can’t wait to go and visit them! “We communicate on Facebook and sms each other daily! They are all great and we all got along so well. It was awesome competing, but for me the highlight of the trip was the after party. All the teenagers from all the different countries came together and partied!”
SOUTH AFRICAN MEDALS
Werner is very proud of his medal-winning team mates, Luvo Manyonga and Tazmin Brits. Boland long jump sensation, Luvo, won the long jump gold medal after producing a final leap of 7.99m. After his win he dedicated his medal to Caster Semenya’s return to international athletics. His win was Team South Africa’s second medal after
Rocco van Rooyen (javelin), Dan Goosen (javelin) and Gert Swanepoel (decathlon), all ranked among the top ten in their respective disciplines.
MORE DREAMS
Werner plans to study civil engineering at the