Silver medallist makes Frances Vorwerg School proud

Chad Rhodes returned home from an athletics meet held in Port Elizabeth with two silver medals for the 100m sprint and long jump recently.

Toyota South Africa Motors and the South Africa Sports Association for the Physically Disabled (SASAPD) hosted a tournament as part of their annual national championships at the end of April.

Rhodes (17) is a learner at Frances Vorwerg School whose always had a desire for sport.

“I was seven when I developed a keen interest in sports. My first love was javelin and sprints,” he said.

He told the COURIER what he enjoys the most is the 100m.

He admitted that when he started sprints, everyone beat him, but that did not stop his dream of competing. Instead, he continued to work hard to be first.

“I trained hard and eventually started to dominate in athletics. I moved on to bigger competitions. In 2018, I went to Cape Town to participate and came first,” he said.

He said he only came second at a recent competition that was held in PE.

“The experience in PE was great, yet hectic. I was intimidated because I saw how determined the other athletes were,” Rhodes said.

He wants to compete nationally and hopefully also overseas. He wants to make his family proud one day.
National technical manager for SASAPD Jacques Oberholtzer said: “Chad has qualified for the SASAPD provincial trials in the 100m.”

He said Rhodes is classified as a T38 athlete.

“We believe he will go far in the sport. We trust he will do well at the trials as he proudly represents the school,” said Oberholtzer.