A Stellenbosch University (SU) student recently broke the South African (SA) records in shot-put and javelin.
Record-breaking Stellenbosch University athlete, Joshua van Staden, trains at Coetzenburg Athletics Stadium. PHOTO: Kyra Rensburg
Joshua van Staden, competed in the F41 class for athletes of short stature at the Athletics South Africa (ASA) Senior Championships in Pretoria earlier in April. This was according to Daniel Damon, Van Staden’s coach.
Van Staden broke the SA record in shot-put on 15 April, and broke another record in javelin throw the next day.
“In physically disabled sports everyone doesn’t compete against everyone, […] you compete against your classification,” explained Van Staden, who is studying a bachelor in theology, specialising in youth work at SU.
Joshua van Staden trains for shot-up and javelin at Coetzenburg Athletics Stadium with his coach, Daniel Damon. PHOTO: Kyra Rensburg
Van Staden is currently competing in the South African Sports Association for Physically Disabled (SASAPD) National Championships in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape. If he does well in this competition, it will improve his world ranking and his chances of qualifying for the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS) World Games 2021 in Portugal, Van Staden told MatieMedia.
“That [qualifying for IWAS] is my main task this year…to perform well so that I can go overseas and compete with people that have the same classifications as myself,” said Van Staden.
Daniel Damon, Joshua van Staden’s coach, explains the ranking system for athletes that compete abroad.
Preparation for the IWAS event will involve personalised training programmes for Van Staden, said his fitness trainer, Grant van Velden. Access to an expert training team, as well as the High Performance Gymnasium in the Maties Gymnasium, will be provided in the lead up to the competition, said Van Velden.
“The next five months will allow for us to work on any areas of weakness that our integrated medical and science team, his coach and Joshua himself identifies,” said Van Velden.
VIDEO: Caitlin Maledo