Bruintjies just loves pushing his own limits
THERE are a handful of topics that crop up repeatedly when Henricho Bruintjies talks about himself and his achievements on the athletics track.
The first is diligence, the second is self-belief, and the third is his competitive personality that drives him to succeed.
The 22-year-old shot to nationwide fame in July last year when he broke the South African 100m record and became the country’s third athlete to ever dip beneath the 10second mark.
Earlier this month, he continued his rise to prominence at the National Senior Athletics Championships in Stellenbosch, where he beat friend, training partner and rival Akani Simbine to claim the 100m title.
Bruintjies is destined for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, but his glittering success has its origins in the humble surroundings of Paarl.
“I’ve been running since Grade One at Dalweide Primary School,” he said. “As a youngster you don’t know why you get into it. You just do it because everyone else is. You just do it for fun. At that time it was just for fun, but now obviously things have changed.
“I think I’ve always enjoyed running because I am very competitive person. I like competing with other people and competing with myself. I love pushing my own limits.”
Bruintjies’ talent, hard work and hunger for victory ensured that he would earn his provincial colours almost every year throughout school, until he abruptly quit athletics in Grade 11 in 2010.
He spent the next three years using his speed on the rugby field, before growing “bored” of the oval ball and returning to his first love.
Bruintjies resumed his athletics training at the age of 20 in 2013, but chose to put in the hard yards on his own instead of joining a club or finding a coach. “I think self-motivation was what kept me going at the time,” Bruintjies said.
But he received an external push soon after when he received his senior provincial and national colours for the first time and claimed silver at the National Championships in that same year.
In 2014, Bruintjies received further confirmation that he was on track for success when he was selected to represent South Africa at the Commonwealth Games.
Though he and the rest of the 100m relay team finished outside of the podium places in Glasgow, the following year would provide the gold medals he yearned for.
In July, Bruintjies clocked 9.97 seconds at the Resisprint International meeting in Switzerland to shave one-hundredth of a second off Simon Magakwe’s previous record.
“At the time I was the fastest South African that ever lived,” he said. “It’s not something I can explain. There are no words that could describe the feeling. I can’t remember a lot about the moment. At the time you don’t know what to think. That moment is still a blur for me.”
Though Bruintjies still regards the record as one of his greatest achievements, along with his victory at Coetzenburg on April 15, he held the South African sprint crown for just a week before Simbine matched his time at the World Student Games in South Korea.
In March, Simbine took sole ownership of the record when he clocked 9.96 at an Athletics SA meeting in Pretoria. Bruintjies and Simbine were housemates until the turn of the year.
“It’s a normal friendship,” he said. “Off the track, we chill and it’s a normal friendship. On the track, we become rivals.
“I was not disappointed at all when he broke the record. I know I can run that time as well so I was very happy for him.”
Just a month later, Bruintjies and Simbine went head-tohead again at the National Championships, finishing in 10.17 and 10.21 respectively as Simbine strained his hamstring in his final strides.
“Me and Akani Simbine are the two best 100-metre sprinters there have ever been in this country, so becoming the national champion is great. It also happened in the Cape with my family there,” he said.
Though he is proud of his achievements, Bruintjies has no intentions of slowing down and believes “great things” lie ahead in what is set to be an “amazing year”.
He believes he has bettered the Olympic qualifying standard of 10.16 almost 10 times since the qualification period opened in May last year.
It’s a fact that states his hunger for success and makes his hard work worthwhile. “It feels good knowing that my place is secured because I’m not about to let anyone take my spot,” he said.
However, neither his impressive performances during the qualification window nor competing on the biggest stage in athletics will be quite enough for Bruintjies.
Nothing short of an appearance in the 100m final would satisfy the former Paarl resident after his hours spent on the training track, competing against himself and Simbine.
“I’m not interested in just going there and competing. It’s nice for some people to just go there and participate and be happy with that, but I want to go there and be competitive. I want people to know that I am there. I don’t just want to go and then fall out in the heats,” he said.
“I don’t know if there is an athlete in the world who just wants to make the semi-finals. The biggest goal is always to make the final.
“Getting into the final is the most important thing because then you can contend for medals, but if you’re not in the final you obviously can’t even think about a medal.”
Bruintjies will face the best the world has to offer in Rio, but with his competitive nature you’d expect this to only motivate him even further.