Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 107, June 2018 | Page 23

WALK THIS
WAY
By Anel Oosthuizen
TIME TO PERFORM
Race day came quickly and the nerves were running high. Personally, I had the best race
regarding my mental state. Keeping focused is so important in our sport because of the
judging that takes place every single second that you are racing. It’s not easy to keep that
focus, because you are human, and you do get tired.
NO SLEEP WALKING IN CHINA
24 hours of travel, four days in Taicang, China, two days of competition,
two SA Records, one Africa record, one personal best, one season best,
and travelling back for 48 hours with a 24-hour delayed flight in Hong
Kong. What a journey and amazing opportunity it has been to go to the
World Race Walking World Team Championships, held on 5-6 May. We
were nine race walkers from SA, including three Junior men, and I was
surrounded by the most amazing team mates as well as team manager
Chris Britz, the best support group one could ask for.
Upon arrival in Taicang, we tried to acclimatise quickly, as we would be
competing in two days’ time. For those who have travelled, you’ll know
how jetlagged one can get from a six-hour time difference, so we tried
to adapt our bodies as fast as we could by doing a training session
when we arrived, as well as a short tempo session the day before the
competition, just to make sure our legs were awake and ready to race!
My main goal going into this race was
to really enjoy it, because it is so easy to
feel that there is huge pressure regarding
representing your country, so much so
that you can get side-tracked by all of
that instead of focusing on what is really
important, doing your best. And that
pressure is not always from the outside, but
includes the pressure you put on yourself.
Ultimately, I am extremely proud to say that
every single SA athlete made a tremendous
effort and gave it their best. The two main
highlights were, of course, the stunning
performance by Natalie Le Roux to break
both the SA and Africa 50km record, as
well as Francois Jacobs dipping under 45
minutes for 10km to make it another SA
record! And, finally, we are all happy to be
home safely, eating food that we can actually
pronounce!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Race Walker Anel Oosthuizen is a multiple SA Champion and
Record Holder, who represented SA at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
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