The 14-year old Tuks gymnast Reghard Vorster has proved the past Saturday that there is truth in cometh the hour, cometh the man when within hours he won a gold medal and saved a girl's life. 

On Saturday morning during the South African Trampoline Championship at the University of Cape Town, the youngster executed the perfect routine to ensure he wins gold in his category. It was the breakthrough performance he dreamt about. 

Still, on a high, he went to cool down the afternoon at a resort in Melkbosstrand. While swimming, he noticed a young girl playing around in the smaller pool. He could see that she was slightly nervous as she was holding on to the pool's side. After he had finished swimming, she was gone. 

"I did not think much about it. Out of curiosity, I went to the smaller pool to see if the water was warmer. I saw the girl at the bottom. At first, I thought she was playing, seeing how long she can stay under the water but then noticed she is not moving at all. Not even her feet were moving.

"The adrenaline took over. I immediately dived in. When I grabbed the girl, her body was totally limp. Her brother was on hand to help pull her onto the side of the pool. I knew she was in trouble, so I started doing cardiopulmonary resuscitation as I could feel no pulse.

"Not far from the pool there was a wedding going on. I told the brother to go there and find out whether there might be a doctor amongst the guests. Luckily there was."

Yesterday Vorster received the excellent news that the girl is going to be OK. 

"There is something special knowing that you were able to play a small part in helping save someone's life. I am grateful for doing a first aid course last year during a Landsdiens Camp. If it were not for it, I possibly would not have been able to help the girl.

"Personally I think it would be a good thing if more youngsters take the time of to learn first aid as you never know when you are going to be faced with a life and death situation."

Vorster's dream is one day to be a brain surgeon, but before that, he also has dreams of representing South Africa at the Olympic Games. He fully realises that it is going to take long, hard hours, but he is up for the challenge.

"My biggest challenge at the moment is to get stronger in my legs as I need to get higher up into the air to able to execute more somersaults and twists. At the moment, I can do two somersaults during a routine, but in our sport, it is all about the degree of difficulty."