Adriaan Wildschutt in action at the 2023 World Champs in Budapest , Hungary |
Records In October , South African middle-distance star Adriaan Wildschutt was briefly back in SA after an incredible year of jet-setting around the world , representing his country and rewriting the SA Record-books . He may have been focused on the road while back on home soil , but the immediate future of this American-based athlete very much lies on the track . –
INTERVIEW BY SEAN FALCONER
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If Adriaan Wildschutt thought 2022 was a good year , he was sure in for a surprise in 2023 ! Last year , he finished his MBA at Florida State University , rounding off five years of studying on scholarship in the USA , and then embarked on the next chapter of his running career , as a professional athlete . He signed up with the Hoka-sponsored Northern Arizona Elite ( NAZ Elite ) team based in Flagstaff , Arizona , and moved just about to the other side of the USA , and Adriaan ( pronounced Adrian ) found that the life of a pro athlete really agreed with him . Having already represented South Africa at the World Indoor Champs in Belgrade , Serbia earlier in the year , he then found himself running in green and gold again in the 5000m at the 2022 World Champs in the USA in July , followed shortly by running the 10,000m at the Commonwealth Games in the UK . That laid the foundation for what followed in 2023 , as the 25-year-old set about rewriting the record books of South African athletics . On 6 May , he clocked 27:23.10 for 10,000m in Walnut , California , USA , finally bettering Hendrick Ramaala ’ s venerable 1999 mark of 27:29.84 , and on 15 July he ran 13:02.46 for 5000m in Heusden-Zolder , Belgium , knocking off Elroy Gelant ’ s 2016 mark of 13:04.88 . Just five days later , on 20 July , Adriaan posted a 7:39.25 for 3000m in Luzern , Switzerland , to take down Jerry Motsau ’ s 7:40.99 record of 2021 . That means he now holds four SA Records , as he also holds the 5000m indoor mark of 13:09.30 , which he ran in Boston in February 2022 .
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Next on the agenda was a second World Champs outing in August , where Adriaan ran a gutsy race in the 10,000m to finish 14th in 28:21.40 , and then , while taking a short running holiday back home in South Africa in September-October , he decided to run his road race since 2017 at the Sanlam Cape Town 10km Peace Run on 14 October . After an incredible solo run , he broke the tape in 27:53 , making him the fourth-fastest South African ever on a record-eligible course , the first South African ever to clock a sub-28 in Cape Town , and just the sixth local athlete to do it on home soil .
Having set the track alight in 2023 , Adriaan ’ s sights are now firmly set on the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris , and chasing more great times in his spikes , but he is also thinking of some more road racing in the near future , as well , as we found out when we caught up with him in Florida ( while visiting his girlfriend ) for a Zoom interview .
MA : Hi Adriaan , thanks for joining me today for a chat . First things first , what a year : After finishing college , turning pro and becoming a sponsored athlete , you ran three SA Records on the track , went to your third World Champs , posted a breakthrough sub-28 for 10km in Cape Town , and more . So , what stands out as the highlight for you this year ?
AW : A big highlight was my performance in the World Champs , where I ended 14th in the 10,000m . I wanted
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Adriaan on his way to a new SA Record for 3000m in Luzern , Switzerland |
Images : Johan Minnaar / Sanlam Cape Town Marathon & Courtesy Adriaan Wildschutt , NAZ Elite |