Blairgowrie paddler wins three races at GCU competition
Young Daniel van Eeden said that having his parents around during weekend races is a game-changer and helps him to stay organised.
A 14-year-old Blairgowrie paddler delivers an outstanding performance at the Gauteng Canoe Union (GCU) sprint competition on Victoria Lake.
Daniel van Eeden came first in K1 200m, 500m, and 1km races for the U16 age group. He explained that the GCU Sprint Series is the race where he assesses his sprinting performance and making it a vital build-up to the South African Sprint Championship.
“The conditions were excellent on the day. Winning wasn’t the best part of my race; the highlight was seeing that my times had improved from the previous year. The biggest struggle during the race was not being able to warm up properly.”
He topped all three races despite not being at his peak sprinting performance because he had just come out of a two-week-long sprint training camp.
The Grade 9 learner at Hoërskool Randburg explained that balancing schoolwork and canoeing is challenging, especially during exams.
“I try to complete all my homework and studying before training. If I still have homework after training, it hopefully won’t be as much. I aim to train five to six times a week.”
In the little free time he gets during race season, the talented paddler enjoys either fishing or mountain biking with friends from school.
He hopes to participate in Olympic Hopes later this year, depending on his performance at the South African Sprints Championship. In the future, he sees himself as more dedicated to marathon paddling.
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