Gerlingen athletes shine: charity run for clean water!

Gerlingen athletes shine: charity run for clean water!

In the last few weeks, two talented track and field athletes from Gerlingen have made headlines. Samuel Weber and Julius Feuerfeil have drawn attention to themselves with impressive achievements that not only influence their sporting careers, but also the community in Gerlingen.

Julius Feuerfeil, a 16-year-old runner, set new standards at the Karlsruhe Running Night. He improved his personal best in the 1,500 meter run by a full 13 seconds, achieving a time of 4:04 minutes. This performance catapulted him to current second place in the national rankings for his age group in Germany. Samuel Weber, 14 years old, also showed an outstanding performance in the pole vault at the “Touch the Clouds Festival” in Munich-Gräfeling. He was able to increase his personal best by 32 cm to 3.92 m and thus defended his leading position in his age group.

Progress through targeted training

Both athletes train under the guidance of experienced trainer Harald Bertsch. Her continued progress is not only a personal achievement, but also a source of pride for the Gerlingen athletics community.

The athletes will be given the opportunity to further demonstrate their skills at the upcoming “Running Day” on June 4, 2025 at the KSG club grounds on the Schillerhöhe. However, this event is not only a highlight for the athletes, but also includes a Germany-wide fundraising campaign for clean water in Ghana.

Commitment to clean water in Ghana

The fundraising campaign aims to provide children and families in Ghana with improved access to clean water. This initiative is supported by the Weltladen Gerlingen, which doubles the donations of participants in the Gerlingen running meeting. Participants can contribute with a donation of 5 euros or more, either directly on site or by bank transfer for a donation receipt.

The project goals in Ghana are complex. Water and sanitation services are to be improved in 20 communities in the Oti and North East regions. Following successes from previous projects that took place between 2015 and 2021 and were effective in 56 communities, a variety of measures are now being taken. This includes building and renovating wells and supporting families in building their own sanitary facilities. In addition, the villagers are trained in hygiene and disease prevention, which benefits not only the individual but also the entire community. Around 20,000 community members, including 10,000 school children, will particularly benefit from the measures, as they will have better learning conditions through the construction of gender-segregated toilets and washrooms in schools.

The commitment of the Gerlingen athletes and their community is an important part of the positive development in Ghana, where access to clean water and better hygienic conditions brings long-awaited changes for many people.