Leendert Koekemoer has spent some of his most formative years competing alongside senior athletes with Olympic medals, world titles and years of experience.
Now, at the World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26, the South African 400m talent has the chance to “experience being a kid with everyone else”. But while Koekemoer is enjoying the opportunity to compete among his peers, he has arrived in Eugene with one clear objective: to win.
Koekemoer entered this week’s championships as the first South African U20 athlete to break 45 seconds for 400m, lowering his own national U20 record to 44.94 in April. The 19-year-old also already has a senior World Championships medal to his name.
At the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25, he ran in the heats of the men’s 4x400m, helping South Africa reach the final before the team went on to claim bronze.
During the pre-event press conference in Oregon, Koekemoer was asked what value he still finds in U20 competition after already racing on the senior international stage.
“For me, junior championships is basically where I compete with people my age, which I think is very important because from a young age I’ve been competing with the seniors,” Koekemoer said. “This means a lot. It’s where I can experience being a kid with everyone else.”