Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 121, August 2019 | Page 45

RACE WALKING
indoor is not as popular in SA as outdoor, due to us
having limited indoor facilities here. So it was even
more of an honour and a privilege to race in the South
African colours, and I was thrilled to finish ninth in the
3000m in my age group, and 17th in the 10,000m. We
actually ended up racing the 10km outdoors due to the
programme on the track being too congested.
MA: This being your first World Champs, what
was your experience like in Poland?
DH: It was unbelievable to meet World Champions
and Olympians, not just from the race walking
perspective, but from track and field in general.
Amongst the walkers, the highlights were meeting
David Swart of the USA, who is the World Champion
in my age group, and former Olympic Champion
Ian Richard, who is in his 70s now. The atmosphere
and sportsmanship is phenomenal. Athletes from all
over the world just come up to you and introduce
themselves, ask where you’re from and what events
you’re doing, and are happy to share advice or
experience. My roommate was an Australian and I
found the Aussies a very friendly and humble bunch,
and I was really inspired just chatting to a much older
World Champion Canadian sprinter who came and
stretched with me next to the track the one day. It’s
just a phenomenal experience to see people from all
age categories competing, from 35 up to 100, and their
level of fitness. It’s an experience that I will never forget.
MA: Any challenges with competing indoors?
DH: It was actually quite difficult, because of the slope
on the track, which actually pushes you inwards. So you
basically had to keep in lane two and then cut into lane
one on the bends and make sure you didn’t fall off the
track! If it wasn’t for David Swart helping me with advice,
I would have really battled. I also found the track quite
congested in the 3000m, and you had to ‘stand your
ground,’ so to say. There again David gave me good
advice, saying that we all deserved to be on that starting
line, so don’t move over for anybody – if they want to
come past you, they need to overtake you.
The 10km was much easier, because it was out on the
road, so there was no congestion and it was free-flowing,
but it was really cold, just six degrees Celsius. The cold
outside was dry, but it was still easier to compete in than
the indoor track, where I found the air conditioning really
dried out your mouth and you battled to breathe. So I was
actually quite glad we moved outdoors!
MA: Our SA athletes regularly win a large number
of medals at the World Masters Outdoor Champs,
so how did the team fare in these Indoor Champs?
DH: Mariette Botha got a silver medal in the high
jump, and we also picked up a bronze in the pole
vault. I think Ian Hacker would have done well in
event, but he unfortunately touched the line on the
bend and was disqualified in his heat. But in general,
our athletes were knocking on the door for medals,
with a few fifth places.
What I found really incredible was experiencing the
pressure of competing at that level – even though it
was just Masters Champs, there was still pressure,
so I can’t even imagine what it must be like to go the
Olympics! Luckily, the athletes are all friendly and
helpful, and you can chat to them and take in what
they do, and that calmed me down quite a bit. I never
went to Poland with any expectations whatsoever, all
I wanted to do was experience being in the green and
gold of South Africa, so I was really pleased with my
results and what I ended up achieving. But it never
really sank in until I got a phone call from my sponsor,
Clive Chowles of Brooks South Africa, and he said
“Congratulations, not many athletes can claim a top
10 finish in the world in their age group!” I’m just very
grateful I had this opportunity. I’ve always said there
are lots of athletes that are better than me. I was just
privileged to be fortunate to go.
Denny in action in the 3000m
nutrition sponsor 32GI. A World Champs is an
experience of a lifetime, and you learn so much from
people that have been athletes all their lives. I have
come back a better athlete, with a lot more positivity,
and have already chatted to my fellow race walkers
here in SA, telling them to go if they can. I hope they
get to experience what I have, and it’s something I will
hopefully experience again.
MA: Given what I have heard about the usual
MA: Speaking of SA race walking, tell me your
great spirit amongst SA Masters at World Champs
meets, am I correct in assuming that was the case
here, in spite of the team being small?
thoughts about the state of the sport in this
country. There are a limited number of dedicated
race walking events, but the walking community
seems quite motivated.
DH: Yes, we had an unbelievable time together,
and did a lot of things together, including eating
out and shopping. We also went to the track and
cheered each other on, and for me a highlight was the
women’s high jump, cheering on Mariette. Seeing your
flag flying high just gives one goose bumps! Our SA
team leader, coach, manager and doctor, Ian Hacker,
has also been to the World Outdoor Champs, and
he said the overall atmosphere at the Indoors was
actually better, because everybody was together in
one arena and closer to each other than the Outdoors,
where they usually use three different stadiums to
accommodate all the events and athletes.
MA: I know it’s very expensive to go to World
Masters, but now that you’ve had this first bite of
international competition, would you like to give it
another crack?
DH: Oh, definitely. If anybody can grab the
opportunity to go, I think they should, whether it’s
indoors or outdoors. I’ve already received messages
from my new Australian friends asking if I will be in
Toronto, Canada next year for the Outdoor Champs.
It’s quite costly for us to fund our own trips to World
Champs, so I’m extremely grateful to my sponsors,
in particular Brooks South Africa, who contributed
tremendously towards my flight tickets, and my
DH: I think it’s a growing sport, but the strength lies in
Gauteng, where they’ve got the likes of coaches Chris
Brits and Carl Meyer bringing new athletes into the
sport. We’ve had quite a few league races in the Cape,
but in the last year or so they’ve started to fade a little
bit, which is sad to see. Most importantly, I think we
haven’t got the amount of coaches here that they have
in Gauteng, to really monitor, push and grow the sport.
Still, I think that there are a lot of talented race walkers
in South Africa, but they don’t get the opportunities
that they deserve, and unfortunately, the sad thing is
that it’s down to money. For that reason, I would love
to see the World Masters Outdoor Champs hosted
in South Africa in 2024. I think Johannesburg would
get it, as they need a few stadiums close to each
other to handle the whole meet, so they could use the
Herman Immelman Stadium in Germiston along with
the Boksburg and Ellis Park stadiums. Of course, it
would be even better for me if we got it here in Cape
Town, using the Green Point, Tygerberg, Bellville and
Athlone stadiums. But whether we get the World
Champs or not, the great thing about race walking in
South Africa is the strong sportsmanship and spirit in
our community. I love the sport, and hopefully we can
grow it from strength to strength.
Denny racing and making new friends in the 10km
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