TRACK & FIELD |
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MA : I would assume that being part of an elite training group brings huge benefits , such being able to train together , feeding off each other ’ s energy , and that kind of stuff , but please , in your own words , tell me what it ’ s like being part of the ON setup . |
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GM : For me , it was a game-changing moment in my career . Track and field is a notoriously hard sport , where you have to do a lot of stuff yourself , and almost work things out for yourself , so when I joined this team and began receiving the support of the brand , and joined up with other athletes like Tom , it mostly took away the element of worrying about how to pay for something , or whether you should go to physio or not . It gave me a professional environment , where I could just focus on training and then be ready to perform . |
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TE : Yeah , it was the same for me . I mean , as an individual athlete , it ’ s quite lonely , and doing this all by yourself is a bit tough . If you have teammates , it encourages you to be in training camp for a longer time , and to push harder . So that was the big change for me , actually having a group working together on the same mission , rather than just doing it all by myself . |
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MA : I believe the whole ON team was in Dullstroom this summer . How many athletes were here ? |
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GM : We have 13 athletes on the team , and they were all here at different points . I think Tom , Sebi and I probably had the longest time here , along with a couple of the girls . I think it ’ s a place that all the team enjoy coming to , and it ’ s a really good environment to just focus on the training . We ’ ve been averaging around 200 kilometres a week for the time we ’ ve been in South Africa , so we ’ ve not had much time for anything else . Then again , I don ’ t know if you know Dullstroom , but there ’ s not so much going on , so we pretty much just train … and try to schedule our lives around the loadshedding , which is something we ’ re not so used to , coming from Europe . But it keeps things interesting , I guess . Gives you a bit of structure ! |
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Images : Lea Kurth / ON |
George Mills and Tom Elmer in action on the European circuit .
MA : All right , so let ’ s kick things off by talking about the OAC . I believe there is more than one branch around the world ?
GM : Yes , there are three teams , in the US , Europe and Australia . Tom and I are part of the European team .
MA : I read that the American group is based in Boulder , and they ’ ve got Dathan Ritzenheim as their coach . What ’ s the set-up for you guys in Europe ?
TE : We are coached by Thomas Dreischer , a German coach . Our group is a bit different , we don ’ t have a base like Boulder , where we stay permanently , instead we have two bases where we train , at St Moritz in Switzerland in the European summer , and in the time we come to South Africa , Dullstroom . So , we spend most of the year in our training camps in Switzerland or South Africa .
GM : Basically , we spend half the year to eight months in Europe , and four to six months in South Africa . Obviously , the European winter isn ’ t great for training , and we come out here for warmer weather , high altitude , and all-round better surroundings at this time
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of year . So , we spend pretty much all of November , December and January here , and then also March and a bit of April in South Africa , with pretty much all of that being in Dullstroom , although we did drop down to Cape Town over Christmas for a little break in between the big training blocks .
It ’ s pretty standard for European athletes or Europeanbased athletes to have a slightly more nomadic lifestyle , and a lot of us come over to South Africa during our winter . We have a high emphasis on high altitude training – that ’ s the philosophy of the coach and our training group - so Dullstroom is at 2000 metres , and St . Moritz is at about 1800 metres . That means we spend pretty much all year at that altitude .
MA : I also read that coming to South Africa is an annual trip for you guys . So , how many years have you been coming here ?
GM : I came to South Africa for training for the first time in 2019 , and that was before OAC Europe . In the beginning , I spent most of my camps in Potchefstroom , but then changed to Dullstroom . Tom ’ s been coming for a few more years .
TE : Yeah , since 2015 . I also first went to Potchefstroom at first , and since then , I have come back every single winter for training in South Africa .
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MA : Am I correct in assuming that for both of you , Paris 2024 is the big focus for the year , and if so , are you focusing on the 1500 metres , or are you looking at other events as well ?
GM : I ’ d say Paris is our main goal , that ’ s the pinnacle of this year , and we ’ re both trying to run the Olympic standard in the 5000 metres , so we would like to go for the 1500 and the 5000 . You don ’ t qualify until , I ’ d say , July . How it works in the UK is you run the qualifying standard , and then you have to go to the National Championships and come in the top two or three positions , depending on how they put the selection criteria . So , yeah , I mean , we ’ ll probably know maybe a month before the Games whether we ’ ve made it .
TE : Yeah , the biggest goal this year is obviously the Olympic Games in Paris , and my main focus is definitely the 1500 . I also have to run either the qualifying time or have enough world ranking points to be selected . But it ’ s only when you ’ re actually selected , that you ’ re sure that you will be going to the Olympics .
( Sidenote : just days after this interview was conducted in late January , George and Tom flew to the USA to compete in the 5000m at the BU John Thomas Terrier Classic on 26 January . George clocked a personal best time of 12:58.68 in the indoor 5000m , which beats the 2024 Olympic qualifying standard of 13:05.00 . Tom also clocked a PB , crossing the line in 14:00.95 .)
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