Wegadesk Gorup-Paul

Wegadesk Gorup-Paul

Sports (2007)

Becoming a world champion in athletics as a teenager could be a little daunting. But for 18-year-old Wegadesk Gorup-Paul he takes it all in stride. A champion diver who began a diving career at age 11, Gorup-Paul is stirring up the waters in the world competitive diving world. His name means Northern Light in Miq Maq and he’s not your average teenager. He’s traveled the globe competing against the sports’ top divers in the Pan Am Games, the Commonwealth Games and even the South African National Championships, to name a few. A national champion in three different countries, Gorup-Paul currently ranks 3^rd in the world in the sport of platform diving. As a teenager, he’s understandably a role model not only for his athletic prowess but his drive to reach new heights. Besides balancing school, family, cultural practices and part-time jobs like any teenager, he practices twice daily, spends more than 25 hours in the pool each week and manages to squeeze in weight training and yoga. He is one of 13 children in his family. From extraordinary circumstances come extraordinary individuals who even in their youth, never break stride.