Wanderers Club’s gymnast secured 39th spot in the Philippines’ men’s junior world championships
Kadin Chester aims to compete in the Olympics.
Wanderers gymnast Kadin Chester, who recently secured 39th place at the men’s junior world championships in the Philippines, has his sights set firmly on the Olympics.
The 18-year-old said he felt fully prepared for the championships.
“I have competed overseas before, and it was my second junior world championships. This time, I increased my ranking by approximately 50 spots, which was an achievement I am proud of.”
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He added that he began gymnastics at the age of seven and has loved the sport ever since.
Kadin acknowledged that while he enjoys the sport, it comes with significant challenges. “The biggest challenge in doing the sport is managing school and doing gymnastics because of the 28 hours I train per week. Managing that with exams, tests and homework is difficult.”
He said his long-term goal is to make the Olympic team and pursue gymnastics as a career.
SA international judge for the junior world championships, Bobby Budai, explained that gymnastics originated in Europe and is dominated by professional federations in the Northern Hemisphere.
“However, our main rivals in the Southern Hemisphere are Australia, New Zealand and Brazil. For a while now, we haven’t been able to catch up to them, but our strategy is working, and we are turning the tables.”
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Budai noted that Kadin outperformed the entire Australian and New Zealand teams and all but one Brazilian competitor.
“His result is excellent, and on the African continent, he was second only to one Egyptian. The results are starting to show that we are capable of competing internationally, so Kadin’s goal to qualify for the Olympics is not unrealistic.”
Kadin’s coach, Nico Kruger, said he was satisfied with the gymnast’s performance at the championships.
“We had a difficult subdivision; we competed late in the evening, starting at 18:00 and ending around 11pm, which was a long session, but we succeeded in the end. My takeaway is that we performed well and were on par with our competitors.”
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