Gerhardus Pienaar - Early Life

Early Life

Although Pienaar was born in Rustenburg South Africa, he grew up in Middelburg Mpumalanga where he attended Kanonkop Primary and Kanonkop High School. Pienaar excelled as an athlete from an early age and was notably stronger and faster than his teammates. During Primary School, his strongest athletic events were the 100 meter sprint and shot put. He represented his province at a national level and there are still many of his records to this date at the town’s local track and field events.

Pienaar took on the javelin throw at age 15 and only seriously at age 16. He quickly became the number one athlete in his school and eventually the South African province of Mpumalanga. He won every major high school track and field event and in 1998 became the Junior South African Champion at age 16, only one year after he picked up a javelin for the first time. Later that year, Pienaar was selected to represent South Africa at the IAAF World Junior Championship in Annecy, France. He won the silver medal with a distance of 71.16 meters. In October he same year, he became the Junior World Champion at the ISF junior World Championships held in Shanghai with a winning distance of 79.46. Shortly after his return from Shanghai, Pienaar threw an unofficial distance of 81.94 at a local high school track and field event. The distance was further than the official junior world record, but due to the event staff and measuring equipment not having been officially calibrated, Pienaar's junior world record could not be regarded as official by the IAAF.

Pienaar graduated from Kanonkop High School in Middelburg, South Africa and was invited to attend the prestigious training group at Potchefstroom University under the watchful eye of coach Tersis Liebenburg in 2000. During his tenure at Potchefstroom, he won the gold medal at the IAAF Coca Cola World Junior Championships held in Santiago, Chile with a distance of 78.11. He completed his first year and remained a student until 2001 when he decided to pursue athletics full time.