Rehan Adamjee has failed brakes! Besides being a national-level distance runner, he plays squash, cricket (leg spinner), the piano and is an excellent debater on top of that. And if this makes you wonder about how much time that leaves him for studies, well he just came third in his last exams in Class X and has been consistently ranked as one of the top three students in his class every year for as far back as he can remember.
A student of Karachi Grammar School, Rehan belongs to the Streeton House and having won several accolades for the green house, he is now going all out to break more records. This year alone saw him breaking the 800m (211), 1,500m (442) and 3,000m (1019) records.
And he improved on that further in the Pakistan National Athletics Championship in Lahore last month, where he timed 425 in the 1500m, taking 17 seconds off his personal best. The 15-year-old was placed eighth in 20 men.
“Appearing for trials for the Sindh team at the Karachi University and then getting to compete in the national competition has helped me a lot in bettering my time,” says the teenager.
“In school, I just had no proper competition and winning every race easily made me feel that I didn`t need to push myself to do better. But all that changed when competing at the national level. It was a very good experience,” says the teenager.
And how much contribution does his school have in his success as an athlete? “Our school does promote sports but not to the extent that it ought to. We have plenty of facilities but then there is no one around to motivate us or push us beyond the limits. I have felt that students who are good in any sport remain so and those who aren`t remain so too. The school does little to change that,” he explains.
When asked what he did to stay fit, Rehan said “Well, just running in the park or on the treadmill while trying to build stamina has been very helpful.”
Suddenly the image of Popeye and his can of spinach sprang to mind. When asked about the kinds of food he likes to consume or if he took any extra food supplements to build on his strength, Rehan just laughed and said “I try not to have too much of junk food or fast food, but I just love Pakistani food. You know, the gourmet variety like pulao, biryani, curry and qorma.”
Hearing that, his mother, who was sitting close by and listening to our conversation, just smiled and said “We just feed him plenty of love and support him in whatever he wants to do.”
