Hailing from the Kuyga community in Greenbushes, 18-year-old Dallian Oerson from Framesby High School is an athletic star who finished the recent Absa Run Your City Gqeberha 10K, on April 13, in an impressive time of 34:13.
Dallian explained that he found the start of the 10K a bit challenging, as he went out too fast. But once he composed himself, found his rhythm and settled into his pace, he just kept on putting one foot in front of the other. Dallian further mentioned that his legs started hurting after a while but thanks to a friend who turned to him and said, ‘Let’s go champ;’ he ran the remaining 7km flat-out till the end.
Following the 10K, he continued his performance later that week by helping his team place third, out of 88 teams, at Framesby High School’s relays, held on April 16.
Motivated by the dream of one day representing South Africa at the Olympic Games and becoming a police officer, this determined 18-year-old is driven by the desire to make his parents, family, friends and the Kuyga community proud.
“My father inspires me every day; he is like a hero to me. He is always there and no matter how tough times are or get, he always motivates me to carry on and to never give up,” Dallian said.
To which his hero, Neels Oerson, responded, “I will always have his back, I’m 100 percent behind him.”
“Proud. It’s all I can say. We are really proud of everything he achieves here at Framesby. He makes us so proud,” Charlene Oerson, Dallian’s mother, said.
Sometimes in life, all it takes is one person who genuinely believes in you, takes you by the hand and walks the journey with you. For Dallian, that person is his coach, Marinda Cronje, Afrikaans teacher at Framesby High School, who has made a powerful and lasting impact on his life for years.
“He is committed, always listens and always gives his best. You will never find him loafing around at training. I have developed a really soft spot for him,” Cronje said.
For this supportive teacher and coach, her biggest dream is to see Dallian continue with his athletics and that he reaches the highest level of success.
She proudly expressed that she is incredibly proud of the progress he has made since she began working with him four years ago.
Dallian’s parents expressed their gratitude toward Marinda Cronje for her unwavering support and endless sacrifices.
They believe that without her, Dallian would have not come this far. They can’t thank her enough.
“Mrs Cronje is a really good coach; she has more faith in her athletes than we have in ourselves. She motivates us, encourages us, and always gets us to be calm before every race,” Dallian added.
While Dallian is the one who puts in the effort at training, and lines up for each race; behind this hardworking, dedicated, resilient and polite young man, there’s an entire community rooting for him from the sidelines that wants to see him soar with the eagles one day.
