Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 99, October 2017 | Page 29

More to Come…
experience will help me going forward. But most
important is that I really enjoyed the experience of
going up against the best in the world in Rio, and look
forward to doing it again.”
Antonio’s sporting journey started in humble
beginnings at Silversands Primary School and Malibu
High School in Blue Downs, a suburb on the Cape
Flats. His breakthrough came at the South African
High School Championships in Rustenburg when he
was in Matric – he finished fourth in that race, but
says it boosted his confidence massively and laid the
groundwork for greater things in his career. Another
important factor in his success is the ongoing support
of his parents Edward and Gail, who attend most of his
races when finances allow, but otherwise sit nervously
glued to their TV set when he is racing.
Attitude of Success
That confidence took a small knock in April this year
at the SA Championships, when Tiaan Smit snatched
the national title from Tony in Potchefstroom, but
Tiaan was subsequently found to have used a banned
substance and was banned for four years. Meanwhile,
Antonio bounced back from that disappointment more
determined than ever to do well, and that saw him
finally surpass Lehann’s African and SA Record at the
European Classic Permit Meeting in Prague, Czech
Republic in May, replacing the old mark of 13.24 with
his massively improved 13.11. “To be honest, it didn’t
come as a surprise at all. I could feel it in the warm-
up, and I had been running times like that in training,
so I just had to perform on the day. My coach had told
me I was going to be the one to break the record, and
in training you could see I was a lot stronger than last
year, so we knew it would come this year.”
Antonio
and
Fiancé
Bronwin
After that it was time for the IAAF World
Championships in August, and Antonio went to London
boosted in confidence by his new record. He once
again made it to the semi-final round, but fell short by
0.36 seconds, clocking 13.59 when he needed a 13.23
to progress to the final. Nevertheless, it was still one
of his best major championship performances, and
he says just makes him want to chase further success
on the track. “My long-term goal is to work towards
podium finishes and medals at the Commonwealth
Games, World Championships and Olympics. That
would be amazing, and it won’t come easy, but with
hard work, belief and trust, I think it can happen.”
“I grew up in Brentwood Park in Blue downs, and I’m
still living there with my parents. Our community was
quite small and almost everyone knows each other, so
I had a good, fun and peaceful upbringing,” says Tony.
He recently became engaged to long-time girlfriend
Bronwin Houston, with whom he has a son, Logan, and
he says he couldn’t do what he does without her love
and support. “She supports my passion for the sport,
and that means a lot, because I enjoy what I’m doing.”
All in all, Antonio has come a long way from that
disappointed youngster in Germiston who had been
eliminated in the preliminary heats at nationals, but
instead of giving up, he opted to work harder, and
that recently paid off with a new sponsorship from
Nike. But there is no time for resting on laurels, he
says. “I can always look back at my races, see what
I did wrong, and work on how to perfect it, then get
better. I just want to make it into the final of a major
competition and whatever happens, happens, because
it is so unpredictable in a final, and anything can
happen in a technical race like the 110m hurdles.”
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Antonio (27) attributes his success to the work he has
done with coach Marcel Otto at the Bellville Athletics
Club in Cape Town. “My coach and I worked hard to
get where I am now. We worked on speed for a few
years, and then focused on technique, but there is still
room for improvement,” says Antonio, adding that he
is confident that the great athlete-coach relationship
he and Marcel have is still going to bring them both
great success. “Training is a lot of hard work, but I
have the hunger to improve every year, even if it’s just
0.01 seconds. It’s still an improvement, and I trust my
coach and his guidance to get me there.”
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