TRACK & FIELD
Raring to Race Again
Check out some of the latest news to come out of the South African Track and Field scene , including a comeback story in the one-lap sprint and an update from the 4x100m men ’ s relay team after their first training camp . – BY WILHELM DE SWART & SEAN FALCONER
Berend Back on Track
Former junior athletics star Berend Koekemoer quits farmwork to make his comeback in the 400 metres .
Six years ago , a shy 19-year old from Graaff- Reinet in the Eastern Cape caused quite a stir when he stopped the clock on 45.42 seconds to win the SA Open title over 400 metres at the South African Open Championships in Potchefstroom . That made him South Africa ’ s secondfastest sprinter over 400 metres that year – only Wayde van Niekerk was faster – and it was believed that Berend was a future champion in the making .
In 2014 he had just missed out on qualifying for the 400m final during the World Junior Championships in Boulder in the USA , finishing ninth overall in the semifinals with a time of 46.87 . Then things really took off for him in 2015 , starting with a second place at the South African Under-23 Champs in Bloemfontein , with a time of 46.95 in the final . A week later he clocked 46.01 as he finished third in the South African Champs in Stellenbosch , and just three weeks after that he followed that up with his scintillating 45.42 win in Potchefstroom .
He went on to win the 400m at the ASA Invitational in Cape Town with a 46.85 that May , then in August ran for Team SA at the World Champs in Beijing , running a 46.52 in his first round heat . However , that burst of success in 2015 was hard to replicate in the next few years . In 2016 , Berend won the Western Province Under-23 title in Cape Town , then finished fourth at the SA Under-23 Champs in Germiston , but did not get past the semi-final round at the SA Champs in
Berend with coach Paul Gorries
Stellenbosch . In 2017 , he did not progress from the heats at the SA Champs in Potchefstroom , and in 2018 was once again knocked out in the semi-final round at the SA Champs in Pretoria .
While things on the track were not quite working out as he had planned , Berend was also dealing with bad news from home , and in 2018 he quit athletics to go work on a farm , in order to help his parents . According to Berend , he had no choice but to quit athletics . “ Our family was going through a problematic time , and it felt selfish to focus on an athletics career , knowing that I could make a difference . I went to work on a game farm in the Eastern Cape to help . It was tough , but I persevered for the sake of my parents .”
Getting the Call
Nevertheless , Berend could not let go of his dreams , and felt he had yet to run that one perfect race . What clinched it for him was when national relay coach Paul Gorries contacted him and told him he should consider making a comeback . “ I told him that you don ’ t quit athletics when at 19 you ran 45.42 in the 400 metres !” explains Paul , especially in light of the fact that only five local athletes have managed to dip under 45.50 in the last six years .
That said , he is trying to remain realistic . “ Through past experience , I have learned never to take anything for granted . There is a reason why the 400 metres is considered to be one of the toughest races , because it is fast from the start . I consider the first 50 metres to be crucial . Then the thinking games start . You can never afford to slack down , but you also don ’ t want to burn off too much energy too early . I prefer being in the second or third position after 200 metres , and the last 150 metres is usually the moment of truth . That is when the battle between your brain and muscles start in earnest ,” he explains .
Paul believes the time Berend spent working on the farm will stand him to good stead . “ Berend now realises what life outside of athletics is about . I don ’ t doubt that his experience as a farmworker has mentally toughened him , and motivated him . That is why I think he will dip under 45 seconds .”
Berend took his words to heart , and towards the end of last year , he joined TuksAthletics . Having reached the age 25 , he says he realises there is now no time to waste , and that he has to make every minute count when he is on the track . Berend adds that for him , the question is not whether he can dip under 45 seconds , but rather when he will do so – and that confidence sprouts from the times he is clocking in training .
Images : Reg Caldecott
46 ISSUE 139 MARCH 2021 / www . modernathlete . co . za