Barend Koekemoer
Barend Koekemoer is a diamond in the rough. The 22 year old only started running late in life. He was discovered in 2013 by Paul Gorries who was scouring the Eastern Cape for talent. Barend was finishing his Matric in 2013 in Graaf Reinet, a town of just over 35 000 people. With structured training by Gorries, Barend was able to bring down his 400m from 47.71sec to 45.97sec within the space of two months.
It was after that huge improvement that Barend decided to relocate to the Western Cape to train full time with Paul Gorries. Due to various circumstances, that move only took place in mid 2016 causing Barend’s training to suffer. Despite that, his raw talent and the limited training he was able to do, Barend was able to qualify for the World Championships in Beijing in 2015.
Barend has settled into his new training environment in the Western Cape and is now focusing on qualifying for the World Championships in London in 2017.