SAYS sport man says by MANFRED SEIDLER
Images : Jaco Wolmarans , Christian Petersen / Getty Images ( courtesy of World Athletics )
On a recent visit to Potchefstroom , I had the chance to catch up with Elroy Gelant , who will be jetting off to Paris soon for the Olympic Marathon , on the back of an incredible year or so of competition that has seen him shatter all his personal best times , and claim numerous race wins and podium finishes – and all at the age of 37 !
Over coffee we spoke about his most recent win at the beginning of July , at the Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K , where he took his PB down to 27:47 . We also chatted about how he has dominated his rivals in various races since the beginning of this great run of form last September , at the Hollywoodbets Durban 10k , where he posted a ( then ) PB of 28:04 . That was followed by a 1:00:56 half marathon PB in Riga , Latvia in October , at the World Road Running Championships , a marathon PB of 2:08:56 in the Seville Marathon in Spain in February , another 10km PB of 27:54 in the Absa RUN YOUR CITY CAPE TOWN 10K in May , and now the new PB in Durban this July .
Elroy Gelant ’ s recent success is largely thanks his new mindset
SPORT MAN
SAYS sport man says by MANFRED SEIDLER
A New Approach
What came out of the chat was how Elroy has been working with a new mindset ever since Riga . “ It was then that the thought of , and belief of going to my third Olympics came to fruition , and from then I have been working on my mind ,” he said . He also ascribes his recent run of success to some changes to his training regime , but says it is more to do with his new mindset .
Unsurprisingly , given his form and results , when Elroy steps onto the road now , he is a marked man , being watched by all his rivals , and he says knows it … but he uses it to his advantage . For example , at the NMB Half Marathon in Gqeberha in June , which once again hosted the SA Half Marathon Championships , he used the horrendous weather conditions to his advantage .
At the start , he went off at a blistering pace of 2:45 / km with a near gale force wind from behind pushing him . He got the jump on his competition , who then had to play catch-up and work so much harder to catch him , but by the time they did , the runners were turning into the wind . His opposition had spent valuable energy trying to catch him , and when they turned into the wind , he sat behind them , conserving energy , but when they started the second lap , he employed the same strategy . He raced clear again , and this time they could not close the gap as he won the national title .
In Durban this month , he asked one of his training partners to take the early pace out hard , so he knew what was coming , whereas his competitors did not , which allowed him to win again . And Elroy says this shrewd racing comes from his new mindset . “ It doesn ’ t matter who is next to me , I will run my race . Athletes always say they do so , but do they really ? I spent months working on my mind , and now I really , really believe in myself . And that has been the difference !”
Time for Mind Games
The Olympic Games produce the best athletics , with drama , glory , upsets , stories and some insane results … and mind games . So , I cannot wait for Paris 2024 to begin . On Your Marks . Set . Let the Mind Games begin !
Sha ’ Carri Richardson believed she could become World Champion
Positive Vibes
I recently watched the athletics docu-series , SPRINT , on Netflix . What was most telling about the likes of Noah Lyles , Sha ‘ Carri Richardson , Shelley-Ann Fraser- Price and Shericka Jackson is that very same belief that Elroy is now displaying . They are merely more vocal about it . In the series , Lyles explains his thought process when he announced on social media that he would run 9.4 for the 100m and 19.10 for the 200m . He firmly believed he could go that fast , so he put it out there . In the end , he didn ’ t achieve those times , but that didn ’ t stop him from trying , and in the process , he became the World 100m and 200m Champion .
Richardson has for the past few years been very vocal , even bullish at times – even in defeat – because she really believes that she is the best . After serving a ban for using Cannabis as a coping mechanism at the US Trials in 2021 , and thus not being on the USA ’ s Olympic Team that year , she was a shadow of herself when she came back , but not once did she doubt herself , and in 2023 , she was crowned World Champion in the 100m . She still did it the hard way : She only just made the final as a ‘ fastest loser ’ after a bad semi-final run , hence she was drawn in the outside lane eight of the final , as the slowest qualifier in the final . Now she is the favourite for gold at the Paris Olympics ! Again , it shows the power of a positive mindset .
About the Author
Manfred Seidler is a freelance sport journalist who has been in the industry since 1994 , in both print media and broadcasting , covering four Olympic Games for SABC Radio , and producing various athletics shows for the SABC . Follow him on X : @ sportmansa ; Facebook : Sport Man SA ; Instagram : sportman _ sa .
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