Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 74, September 2015 | Page 18

Ma Feature

Fastest

BOY IN SA
December, but Kyle says the Cali medal is definitely the highlight. “It was my
first World Champs, so it was that much more special. Now I hope to do even
better at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Samoa in September, and then
the World Junior Champs in Russia next year.” (Junior competition is reserved
for athletes aged under 20.)

One for the Future

Unsurprisingly, big things are expected from the grade 11 pupil at Brackenfell
High School, who is coached by Marcel Otto and boasts a 100m PB of 10.52
seconds. He is being touted not only as a potential medallist at the World
Juniors, but long-term as a senior at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. For
now, however, he is just trying to fit in his sport and his academics. “It is
tough, because my school work is falling behind from touring a lot, so I’m
trying to catch up with my classmates. My friends help me a lot, and the
teachers do understand and also try to help.”

– BY SEAN FALCONER

D

o a Google search for Kyle Appel and you’ll come across a YouTube
video of him in action, with the title: Kyle Appel – Fastest u/15 Boy
Alive 2013. In the footage, you see him winning 100m and 200m
events at a local meet in Cape Town and finishing a good 20 or 30 metres
clear of the rest of the field! Now the title of that video may contain some
‘poetic licence’ – it was posted by a self-confessed fan – but there is no
denying that this 17-year-old from Bellville in the Cape is seriously f