Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 63, October 2014 | Page 13

lends advice, but on the track I just want to beat
him all the time, because I want to take over from
him. Félix complimented me on my season and
said I must look after myself and recover properly
now, because I’m still young. To hear that from
my role model is amazing!

MA: You seem to have found an extra gear

I’m back to rest before starting up in the middle
of October. I want to spend time with my family,
who I don’t see during the year. They’re based in
Caledon in the Overberg of the Cape, so catching
up on news is going to be great. I will still be
active, but nothing on the track – I will swim and
cycle just to keep the body going. I don’t want to
start from zero in October!

this season. Any training secrets you can
share with us?

MA: You set your PB of 48.14 in 2011, and

It’s just hard work. I joined the High Performance
Centre at Tuks in October 2012, moving from
Stellenbosch, and it’s one of the best moves
I’ve made. We have a good training group in
Pretoria, with seven guys who have all competed
on the world stage, so everyone motivates each
other. We train at LC De Villiers in the off-season
and we spend June to August in Europe for
competitions. Our training is based on endurance
work, but as the season goes on, we cut back
and focus on speed sessions to sharpen before
big competitions. I didn’t expect the success
to happen so soon in my career, but I’m glad
because I still have time to learn. I’m hungrier
and want more medals.

League. Do you think you can you dip under
48 to become just the third South African to
do so, and go after the SA record?
LJ Van Zyl broke Llewellyn Herbert’s 11-year-old
SA record in 2011 with a 47.66. It will be tough,
but I’m looking to break it in the future. Right
now, I would like to improve my PB first and take
it step by step. Hopefully one day when I have
the perfect race, I can run under 48.

this year your best has been 48.25 when
you won in Zurich in the IAAF Diamond

MA: Is it good to be back in the country
to recharge, or is it straight back to hard
work?

Cornel with coach Hennie Kotze and fellow hurdler Wenda Nel

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