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. RUN ADV A NCE PER FORMA NCE ANKLET/ HIDDEN STRIDE FULL FOOT CUSHIONING & SUPPORT ERGONOMIC LEFT & RIGHT FIT Available at Sportsmans Warehouse, selected Totalsports and Specialist Sport Stores nationwide 23