RACE WALKING
Wayne Snyman in action in Oman
Walking with the World ’ s Best
A fortuitous decision to become a race walker has taken Sizwe Ndebele around the world to represent his country . – BY WILHELM DE SWARDT with SEAN FALCONER
Ageing Well
Wayne Snyman made history with his well-paced effort to finish in the top 10 at the World Athletics Race Walking Team Champs in Oman in March . –
BY WILHELM DE SWARDT with SEAN FALCONER
Like a good wine that gets better with each passing year , race walker Wayne Snyman is maturing well . In the first week of March , the 36-yearold finished seventh during the men ’ s 20km event at the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships in Muscat , Oman . This is the first time that a South African athlete has finished in the top 10 at a World Team Championships in walking , and Wayne did so in spite of being the oldest athlete competing in the 20km race .
However , such statistics do not faze Wayne , as he believes that age is only a limitation one puts on one ’ s mind . “ In the past , there have been 36-year-old race walkers who won world titles . I have indeed become stronger with age , which I proved to myself with last year ’ s top twenty finish at the Tokyo Olympic Games . I now execute my race better , because I focus on the small things that make a big difference ,” he says .
Ten years ago , an 18-year-old Sizwe Ndebele sat glued in front of the television as the world ’ s best 20km race walkers duelled it out for gold at the 2012 London Olympic Games . Fast-forward to 2016 , and Sizwe was in Rome , walking shoulder to shoulder with the best in the 2016 World Race Walking Team Championships . Two years later , he was racing for his country again , this time in China , and in March he donned national colour again in Muscat , Oman , for his third outing in the Race Walking Team Champs .
None of this would have happened if not for watching that London Olympic race on television in 2012 . According to Sizwe , it was riveting to watch , and he was hooked , especially since his career as a middle-distance runner was going nowhere . “ I had missed out on representing my school at the Provincial Championships , but there was no way I was going to quit athletics . As far as I was concerned , I just needed to reinvent myself . I could imagine myself being a race walker , and being good at it . I even imagined the possibility of one day representing South Africa as a race walker at international events .”
However , race walking is a highly technical event , and the sport ’ s history is full of stories of athletes getting disqualified for not executing their technique correctly , sometimes within sight of the finish line . Sizwe ’ s problem was that there were no coaches with real knowledge about race walking in his hometown , Tugela Ferry in KwaZulu-Natal . However , that did not faze him … He just turned to the Internet to learn more .
“ I spent hours reading up on how the best athletes trained , and YouTube was a big help . It enabled me to study the techniques of Olympic and World Champions in detail ,” he says . However , Sizwe says the best decision he made was coming to Tuks to train with Chris Britz , who set SA Records at various distances on both track and road in the 80s and 90s , many of which were only recently broken .
It was impressive to see how Wayne kept his cool from start to finish , starting slightly more conservatively than others and sticking to what worked for him . After five kilometres , he was lying 23rd , but then gradually increased speed to climb to ninth place by the 10km halfway point . It was only over the last kilometre that he moved up to seventh . Line honurs went to Japan ’ s Toshikazu Yamanishi in 1:22:52 , with his compatriot Kozi Ikeda second in 1:23:29 and Kenyan Samuel Gathimba third in 1:23:52 . Wayne finished in 1:25:33 , with fellow South Africans Tumisang Pule and Sizwe Ndebele finishing 49th in 1:40:50 and 52nd in 1:44:07 respectively .
“ From working hard to racing with all I ’ ve got , this was certainly a career highlight for me , and I definitely need to thank all back home for the cheers of support ,” says Wayne . “ It never gets old , seeing your name being announced to represent your country . It ’ s always been an honour wearing the Green and Gold , and from my first cap to the inevitable last , I will always give it my all .”
Three other South African walkers were in action in Muscat , with Marisa Swanepoel finishing 41st in the women ’ s 20km , clocking 1:58:23 . In the Under-20 10km races , Christiaan Bester took 29th place in the men ’ s race in 55:43 , while Janise Nell finished 26th in the women ’ s race in 54:01 .
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Sizwe Ndebele racing for Gauteng North on home soil
The basis of this article was supplied by The Department of Sport ( TuksSport ) at the University of Pretoria . Tuks is home to some of the best sporting opportunities in the world , with more than 30 sport clubs . To find out more , go to www . up . ac . za / tukssport .
Images : Courtesy Wayne Snyman , Sizwe Ndebele