'We help each other improve' - Bredenkamp brothers upbeat about 2025
Wian and Hanru Bredenkamp are brothers whose talent for discus, shot put and javelin has taken them beyond throwing things around on the family farm in Rustenburg. The siblings are the best of buddies and have made their ambitions of representing South Africa together clear. Only two years separate the brothers and despite competing in the same throwing events where the likelihood of battling for the same titles in the future is very high, there's no sibling rivalry. They demonstrate that there's an advantage to having such close family ties.
"I want to compete at the highest level, probably the Olympics. If all goes accordingly, I would like to represent SA alongside my brother at the Olympics," Wian told #TheTopRunner. "I want to go to the Olympics with Wian one day. I look up to him, even though I’m already better than him," joked 11-year-old Hanru.
"We saw other people throwing the javelin at school. Our dad bought us a fake one to practice with. We watched lots of YouTube tutorials and then worked our way up from there until we decided to get professional coaching," continued Hanru who actually started throwing competitively before his older brother Wian joined him.
Their winning mentality and support of each other has resulted in immense success in their age-group events. Wian, a learner at Grey College in Bloemfontein, broke the national U11 turbo javelin record at the ASA sub-youth nationals in 2022 at the Pilditch Stadium when he threw a massive 38.25m. He added two more golds at the age-group national championships in Bloemfontein in December, when he threw 53.55m in the U13 boys' discus and 57.07m in the javelin in the same age category.
"I am still young. It's not that big an achievement. Such results will only matter when I'm a senior. I'm still learning and hope to improve," he said.
Hanru's journey has followed a similar trend. He grabbed a bronze in the U9 boys' turbo javelin at the 2022 sub-youth nationals with a throw of 29.03 and in 2023 in Secunda, he upgraded that to gold in the U11 category after throwing 33.18m. He showed his improvement at the Mangaung Athletic Stadium in December when he shaved 01.02m off Wian's U11 turbo javelin record after throwing a massive 39.27m, setting a new national record and ensuring it stayed in the family.
"I'm proud of myself. I feel I could've done better if I knew what to expect," said Hanru.
Wian shared his happiness for Hanru, saying they always help each other to improve.
"I'm very proud of him. He did his job. I help him and he helps me."
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