The Citizen (Gauteng)

Wildschutt a future legend

- with Wesley Bo on

Since junior level, Adriaan Wildschutt has been a good athlete. His progressio­n over the last few years, however, has been remarkable.

The 25-year-old athlete from Ceres, outside Cape Town, spread his wings in the early stages of his elite career, leaving for the United States where he studied at Coastal Carolina University.

It wasn’t until he transferre­d to Florida State, however, that he experience­d a real breakthrou­gh, and his performanc­es since 2021 have seen him rocketing up the world rankings.

In the last four seasons, Wildschutt has improved his 5 000m and 10 000m personal bests every year, and his 2024 campaign has already been explosive.

He clocked 12:56.76 in an indoor 5 000m race in Boston in January, becoming the first South African to dip under 13 minutes over the distance on any surface, and last week he covered the 10 000m distance in 26:55.54 in California.

His 10 000m effort was groundbrea­king from a local perspectiv­e. Aside from becoming the first SA man to break the 27-minute barrier, Wildschutt stretched the gap so far at the top of the all-time national rankings that he is now in a league of his own.

Second in the SA 10 000m list is former national record holder Hendrick Ramaala, who ran 27:29.94 all the way back in 1999.

Even more promising is that Wildschutt has now lifted himself to a level which makes him a real medal contender at major global championsh­ips.

That’s not to suggest he’s among the favourites for an Olympic title this year, but if he keeps making progress, he will be up there soon.

He has already proved his ability to perform under pressure, securing bronze in the 10 000m final at the World Student Games in 2019 and finishing fifth at the 2022 Commonweal­th Games in Birmingham.

With a new turn of speed and increased confidence he should be ready to take on the world at the highest level over the next couple of years.

And he’s well on his way to becoming one of SA’s all-time greats on the track.

 ?? ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from South Africa