Junior athletes face tough competition
Junior athletes representing Namibia at the World Junior Championships Charlene Engelbrecht and Fred-Charles Pieterse.
Frank Slabbert, Secretary General of Athletics Namibia said that he is confident that Engelbrecht who’s set to compete in the women’s discus this Friday, 13 July will perform well while her counterpart, Pieterse who competed in the men’s 110m hurdles failed to go onto the next round.
Engelbrecht and Pieterse sealed their participation at the World Junior Championships following their good performances at the Coca Cola Namibia sponsored 2012 edition of the Confederation of African Athletics Southern Region (CAA SR) Junior Championships on 28 April 2012.
During the event Pieterse set a new national record for the men’s 110m hurdles with a time of 14.30s, while Engelbrecht was double champion in the women’s discus and shot put events.
During a pre-departure debriefing Engelbrecht and Pieterse expressed their joy at being able to compete against the best junior athletes in the world.
“This is a dream come true for me to be able to participate at the World Junior Championships” remarked Engelbrecht.” “We hope to make the nation proud” Pieterse added.
Slabbert said that both youngsters are mature athletes with the potential to be future stars.
Over 185 Athletics Member Federations and over 1850 athletes confirmed their participation at the world class event. Moreover, the World Junior Championships will also play host to the IAAF centenary celebrations.
