Next up in our Fresh & Hungry Series of young athletes is Rynardt van Rensburg, an athletic champion studying marketing at Kovsies at the moment. He specialises in the 800m athletics.
Rynardt did brilliantly so far this year by winning a Bronze Medal for South Africa at the World Student Games in South Korea. He was also very proud and excited to compete at his very first World Champs at the IAAF World Champs in Beijing this year. Good experiences and perspectives were gained here by this determined young athlete.
He has this to say about himself: “Driven and motivated to get the best out of life”. He also believes that Faith than carry an athlete when he faces though tough times.
Currently a bit challenged with injury and missing out on some meets, but hey, you cannot keep a good man down, so watch this space as he heals, strengthens and rises up all the way to the top again before Rio Olympics 2016!
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Athlete: Bio / Stats |
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| Name & Surname | Rynardt Van Rensburg |
| Nick Name | Rynie |
| Date of birth | 23\03\1992 |
| Place of birth | Kroonstad |
| Current City | Bloemfontein |
| Height | 1,85cm |
| Weight | 75kg |
| Shoe Size | UK 10 |
| Club | Kovsies |
| Coach’s Name | Derek Van Rensburg |
| Out of Country events/ meets | World Student Games 2013,2015
World Athletic Champs 2015 |
| Secondary Sport/ sports | Action Cricket |
| Favorite City | Stellenbosch |
| Favorite Song/ type of music | The Script, Hall of Fame |
| Favorite Movie | Law abiding citizen |
| School & Grade | University of the Free State |
| Tertiary Inst Name/ Year | Humanities |
| Tertiary degree/ diploma | Marketing |
| Sponsors | Nike, TomTom |
| Twitter and Instagram names, facebook name | Twitter & Instagram : Rynie800
Facebook : Rynardt Van Rensburg |
| Web site | www.rynardt running.com |
| Parents Names, siblings | Derek + Amanda |
| Very briefly describe yourself as a person. | Driven and motivated to get the best out of life. |
INTERVIEW:
Q: You are passionate and doing so well in your Athletics, how did you become a champion in your particular distance?
Hard work and perseverance. Never giving up on reaching the goals I set for myself.
Q: Tell me a little bit about how you started in Athletics, and your journey in the Athletics arena up to now?
It all started when my Grade 1 teacher asked me to join the Athletics training after playing wing and being one of the fastest kids in Gr1.
Q: What is the highest accolade that you have achieved in Athletics and what is your greatest personal accomplishment?
2015 – Winning a Bronze Medal for South Africa at the World Student Games in South Korea.
Making the team and competing in the 2015 World Athletic Champs in Beijing.
Q: Do you have any specific regimens or rituals in athletics?
I mostly believe in hard work and whenever training to give it your all. It’s important to look at what you eat but I never get obsessed about my diet.
Q: You have traveled outside SA before, what are you highlights of these travels, and what does travelling do for your mindset/ perspective on things?
Being able to see the world makes all the hard work worth while, seeing things like the Eifel Tower and the Great Wall of China is special.
Q: You have represented Team SA for Athletics before, where did you go and how did you experience it?
I have been to African countries like Botswana, Lesotho and Benine and it made me realize how blessed we are seeing the life’s of the people there. Then for Team SA I’ve been to Russia, Korea and China . It’s really awesome seeing the different people and cultures also to see how big Athletics is abroad.
Q: How do you manage to fit in both sports and academics / work into your schedule?
It’s a real tough one. You don’t always manage and there’s always days where you wonder how will you get everything done. Some people help you and others don’t. People at the University do not always understand how tough it is to manage an individual sport with no support from a federation and keeping up with academics. The important thing I say to myself is just to keep moving.
Q: Beside your Athletics what do you have a passion for?
I love playing action Cricket, I always used to be more of a ball sport Athlete so I miss it a lot. I enjoy watching sport like Cricket and Rugby. I am very passionate about animals and could spend hours with them. I have an Italian Greyhound named Zoey whom is surely the love of my life and I spend a lot of time with her.
Q: Tell me one thing about yourself that the world does not know?
I am a very deep person.
Q: What do you do to relax?
Watch TV, spending time with other Athletes .
Q: Which athletes inspire you?
Oscar Pistoruis
Usain Bolt
Lance Armstrong
Q: Would you like to share a little bit more about your faith journey and how it has affected your life / sports?
It’s always important to have strong faith. Sport has a way of knocking you down the way few things in life can do. It’s then when a great Athlete is made or broken. Faith has really helped me out of all tough situations and kept me positive.
Q: What is your personal favourite motivational quote?
Suffer now and live the rest of your life a Champion
Q: What is your favourite Bible / Scripture quote?
Phil 4:14
Q: What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
Always be patient when expecting success.
Q: What is your biggest challenge, and what do you do to manage this challenge?
To stay injury free and not overtrain, try to stop when your body tells you, you had enough.
Q: When you’ve had a tough / bad day, what lifts you up again?
Family and friends and my Faith.
Q: I’m sure you have many things going on right now, what’s to be expected next from you?
All my Focus is on 2016 Olympic Games to make the Final and be one of the fastest 800m Athletes in the world.
Thank you so much for taking this interview. We would like to wish you all the best for your journey ahead. We look forward to following you as you go from strength to strength. Blessings!
