CROSS COUNTRY
Cian Oldknow ( right ) with South African teammate Aynslee van Graan during the recent World Cross Country Champs in Australia .
THE WORLD CHAMPS COURSE Here ’ s a graphic view of what lay in store for the athletes at the World Champs in Bathurst .
She was only meant to start racing again in early 2023 , but Cian seems to have been blessed with lucky stars , because her recovery went way quicker than anticipated , and within two months of the operation , her third one to her shoulder , she was already cross training and sitting on the bike . “ I was immensely frustrated to not be able to run after having had such a successful 2021 and first half of 2022 , and my coach , George Bradley , had to put up with a lot , but my recovery was incredibly quick from the surgery ,” says Cian . “ Within two weeks I was on the bike – originally it was supposed to be four weeks , but when the surgeon saw me , he gave me the go ahead . And I was only supposed to start running after 12 weeks , but after eight weeks , the surgeon said I can start jog / walking and see how it feels .”
While out of action , Cian tried her hand at TV commentary work .
Long , Tiring Journey
That rapid recovery saw Cian start to race again much earlier than anticipated , and come the SA Cross Country Trials in Potchefstroom in early December , she was on the start line . In a strong field , she ran consistently , steadily picking off the early leaders , and by halfway , she was in the driving seat . “ I felt a bit isolated and wasn ’ t quite sure what to do , but then just stuck to my pace ,” she says . Cian went on to win the trials , meaning she was automatically selected to the South African team that would go to the World Cross Country Championships in February this year .
The World Championships took place in Bathurst , Australia , some 220km north-west of Sydney , which meant it was quite a trip to get there for Team SA . Departure was on Tuesday 12 February at 10pm , and it started with a 10-hour flight to Perth , where they had to wait nine hours at Perth Airport before the four-hour connecting flight to Sydney , and then another three hours on the bus to Bathurst . That meant that Team SA spent a total of 27 hours travelling to the Champs , and while the travel time alone was quite a challenge , the athletes also had to contend with jetlag , as Bathurst is nine hours ahead of SA time .
The entire travelling experience was anything but pleasant , but Cian ’ s positive outlook on life , bubbly
personality and sense of adventure made the trip easier . “ The layover in Perth was long , but luckily Kyla ( Jacobs ) had friends in Perth , so we went out for a short leg-loosener and some stretching , and that made it a lot more bearable . I actually handled the sleep deprivation and jetlag really well – maybe the excitement of my first World Championships made it easier – but when I got to Bathurst , I was determined to go sleep at night in Australian time , so I napped and snacked and kept myself busy . In the end , I didn ’ t really feel tired .”
Pre-Race Preparation
The venue for the racing was Mount Panorama . Dubbed as the ‘ Spiritual Home of Australian Sport ,’ this venue plays host to motorsport and athletics . All the athletes had the opportunity to inspect the course the day before the race , and by then its reputation had already spread like wildfire : It was rumoured to be incredibly tough ! The 2km loop contained lots of ascents and descents , and for good measure , the organisers included what they called the Billabong , a section of the route that was soaked to get the soil muddy , as well as a slalom obstacle section where runners had to wind their way around tractor tyres .
According to World Athletics , the course was technical and tough both physically and mentally :
“ Within two weeks I was on the bike – originally it was supposed to be four weeks , but when the surgeon saw me , he gave me the go ahead . And I was only supposed to start running after 12 weeks , but after eight weeks , the surgeon said I can start jog / walking and see how it feels .”
A beaming Cian comes home to win the SA Cross Country Trials in December .
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