PEOPLE » DONOVAN GELDENHUYS
I don’t like team sports. I’m a lone wolf,
so triathlon suits me 100%. One thing
I wish I had done when I was younger
is competitive swimming. I love that
discipline and, if I had time, I would swim
6km every day just for fun.
Many people would be interested to
hear what a motivated, hard-working
guy like you gets from a tri coach. My
current coach is Kent Horner. I made the
decision to move to Kent to tap into his
racing mindset. He raced pro for many
years and is very knowledgeable. What to
do day-to-day is not that difficult to figure
out, but it’s the finer touches
you need from a coach: how to
assess what your weaknesses
are and improve on them without
neglecting the other disciplines,
how to get your mind right for
race day, how to handle adversity
and what to do when things don’t
go your way, both in training and
racing – and who better than
someone who went through it for
many years himself?
The true value of a coach
comes two to three weeks out
from race day, when you need to
fine tune, to get the taper sorted,
to assess where you are at and
what you can do on race day, and
to help you get your mind into
the right place so that you are
ready to deliver the numbers that
you’ve trained for! I’m not saying
the build-up is not important,
off course it is, I just find the real
value is in the finer details, which is where
Kent and I see eye to eye.
the drive to do more. If they believe I can
do it, why not! I obviously don’t believe I
will beat them one day, but I do believe
I can improve daily in all disciplines and
that’s what I will continue doing!
Who do you look up to in triathlon, for
advice and inspiration? I follow all the
favourites on Instagram. I’m a big fan on
Kienle, Frodeno and Brownlee – the guys
who conduct themselves professionally
and treat the sport like a job, which it is for
them. I cannot imagine having to race for
a living, it must be tough, so I respect the
guys that respect what they do!
spirit sent to help guide us through life,
symbolising loyalty and perseverance.
I have Captain America’s shield on my
left shoulder. I’m a private guy, and
when things get to much, I like to shield
myself from the outside world and keep
the bad things and voices out – so who
better than Captain America? I have
an hourglass on my forearm, which
symbolises to me how precious every
second and minute is. The rest I will
tell you more about after winning Kona
in October.
Will you be ready to take on the likes
of Mike Cannon at home in
Durbs on 2 June? I have no
Donovan and his
wife Rozanne
idea who is even racing – I don’t
look at starting line-ups. I used
to stress myself out by trying
to figure out who would be my
greatest threat on race day, and
then it never works out the way
you think, so I don’t look at all
now. I just rock up and do my
best. That being said, when I line
up to race, I race to win. I want to
win the race overall, so whoever
is there, I will make it difficult for
them to beat me on the day.
What tips can you share with
70.3 newbies? Any course
and conditions tips? Get to the
ocean and swim. Play in the sea,
get comfortable in the water and
learn to panic a little less. The sea
is unpredictable and the energy
people spend fighting the ocean
and stressing themselves out takes away
from the awesomeness that is triathlon.
I myself am nervous, but I try to do every
swim event and spend time with my kids
in the ocean just to get the nerves sorted
for race day. It will go a long way to setting
you up for the rest of your race.
Unfortunately, the Durban bike course,
by it’s nature, is a draft fest. The route is
fairly flat with long stretches of road to
string things out, so I like to set myself up
with a good swim and then bike on my
own, or with a select few upfront. Let’s
hope this works out again – and if all else
fails, there is the flattest run on earth on
the promenade to finish the race!
I will mostly certainly be aiming for my
fastest-ever half marathon run split come
IRONMAN 70.3 Durban, so I challenge
everyone else to do the same!
Your wife and now even your kids are
doing tri. Are you a slave driver or
an inspiration to them? My kids love
triathlon. They love it so much that we
alternate racing. I cannot just nominate
a triathlon and do it. If it has a kids race,
they want to do it. They do the Tinman
races, and my wife and I support rather
than race. I absolutely love it! They both
have road bikes and mountain bikes and
they often cycle with my wife and I when
we run. When we swim, they often join us
too. It’s always because they want to! And
they don’t like it if their dad gets beaten,
even if it’s by Jan Frodeno or Alistair
Brownlee. They believe I should challenge
them, and that’s exactly what gives me
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I read a lot, so for advice I like to
read stuff by Steve Magness and Brad
Stulberg – not necessarily triathlon
focused but focused on everyday life
and inspiration. After all, I do triathlon for
the journey, for what it teaches me as a
person and what it helps me to get from
myself – I feel it brings balance to my life.
You’ve got some wicked tats. Care
to share the meaning and context
of some of them? All my tattoos are
on the left-hand-side of my body, all
nine of them. I’m far from done – it’s
like writing a book for me. I have a few
chapters complete, in no specific order.
I do know the final episode, but I have
some work to do in the middle.
I have a hybrid wolf on my upper
left arm. The wolf is a totem animal or
“I LIKE TO IMPROVE AND
LEARN CONTINUOUSLY”