By Thathe Msimango
Eben Vermaas co-founded the Pierre Blignaut Shot Put and Discus Academy, with Pierre Blignaut himself in 2011, to uplift paralympic athletes in South Africa and Namibia.
Their first good result made history in South Africa. Two shot put athletes represented the country at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Kayle Blignaut and Jason Van Rooyen made history as they both landed over 21 metres throw in the same year – a first for the country.
With the incredible work Vermaas has done, he has decided to open his own academy in 2022 with the intention of serving mostly para-athletes. The Smart Throwers academy began operation this year in Krugersdorp.
One of the biggest names under his stable is Simone Kruger, who represented the country in the Paralympics in 2020 and claimed 5th position during the games in the F38 Discus classification.
“As an individual, I have always had a dream to work with people. It was only later when I started coaching that I decided to combine my dream of working with people with my passion for coaching,” explains Vermaas to Scrolla.Africa.
Vermaas says in the past, they have had a number of talented para-athletes training alongside the athletes in their stable.
“ I soon realised that they had the same goals and dreams as our other athletes with the only difference being that they faced more challenges on a daily basis than our other athletes,” Vermaas said.
Despite the challenges of paralympic athletes being ignored and not getting much financial support, Vermaas is still adamant that one day they will come across someone who shares the same vision as him.
“In South Africa, finding a company that is willing to sponsor shot put and discus throwers is basically non-existent,” he said.
He says he remains hopeful that shot put and discus will receive better coverage and recognition in future.
“I can only hope to cross paths with companies or individuals with the same vision for para-athletics that we have, that would be able to support us moving forward,” he said.
Pictured above: Eben Vermaas with some of his athletes
Image source: Supplied
