Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 99, October 2017 | Page 30

Ma Living Legend
Not
Bad
for
an OLD CODGER
Some elite athletes enjoy a relatively short career at the top level, but others seem to go on forever, even seeming to
getting better with age, like multisport legend Donovan van Gelder, who can still give the youngsters a run for their
money after 30-plus years of top level competition. – BY SEAN FALCONER
Manager for Innovate running shoes), he says he
thinks he underperformed as a youngster, because
he was ‘uncoachable’ back then. “In the 80’s,
nobody really knew how to mix the three disciplines
for triathlon, so we were just winging it, but I’m
opinionated and stubborn, so I didn’t train as well as
I do now. Luckily, I’ve done many coaching courses
and learnt from experience, and training knowledge
has improved, but that said, while I definitely think I
could have performed better in my 20s, I did put less
wear and tear on my body, hence I am still performing
now at 46.
Ironically, given that his main line of business
these days is coaching other athletes through his
CyberCoach website (as well as being National Brand Donovan has spent most of his life in the Durban
area, and today actually lives with his wife Estelle and
six-year-old daughter Audrey just one kilometre away
SUITED TO MULTISPORT
“I will still be racing to
win, and I’m not going to
make it easy for the lighties,
because I consider it my
responsibility to make them
achieve what they can!”
30
ISSUE 99 OCTOBER 2017 / www.modernathlete.co.za
Typical 80s tri scene
from where he grew up in Waterfall, near Hillcrest.
While attending Hillcrest High School, he earned
provincial colours in club soccer, ran cross country,
and also played a bit of rugby and cricket, but says he
enjoyed swimming the most. Then in 1986 he did his
first triathlon, and the proverbial bug bit…
“I was told by the PE teacher about a tri event at Kloof
High School, so I entered, along with a really good
mate, Wayne. He was better than me at swimming and
athletics, so no surprise that he beat me in the swim, but
after I caught him on the bike, I thought he would beat
me again in the run, but I ran away from him instead.
That’s when I realised I can run well off the bike, and
over the years I have often run closer to my PBs in tri
events than in straight road runs. I think something in
my physiology is suited to multi-discipline events.”
After school, Donovan was called up for military
service and posted to the Army’s Infantry School in
Phalaborwa, but just before he was due to leave,
he happened to speak to Dave Sinclair of the Natal
Triathlon Association, who used his connections to
arrange for Donovan to go to Voortrekkerhoogte in
I
f Donovan van Gelder ever finds out what keeps
him training and competing at the highest level in
multisport well into his 40s, he should bottle it and
sell it. He’d make a fortune! Inevitably, he gets asked
all the time what his secret is. “It’s no secret, really,
just hard work. I love the training, and I am generally
quite a solitary individual, which lends itself to training
for the sports that I take part in. I think another big
factor is that all these years of training build up in the
body, and I am stronger as a result of the miles I have
covered, so as long as the motivation is there, I’ll keep
going as fast as I can. Mainly because I have OCD –
obsessive competitive disorder!”