Henri raises the bar
MOTIVATED: RIO MEDALLIST WANTS TO RATE AMONG BEST IN THE BUSINESS
Triathlete hopes improving the speed of his running will help him break into the top three.
Having closed out the 2016 season with a bang, Olympic bronze medallist Henri Schoeman is eager to hit the ground running next week when he opens his 2017 campaign at the Discovery Triathlon World Cup race in Cape Town.
The 25-year-old athlete produced a stunning breakthrough at the Rio Games, earning his first podium place in a top-flight contest, and he followed that up a few weeks later with a maiden victory at the World Triathlon Series final in Cozumel where he triumphed in a dramatic finish after Olympic champion Alistair Brownlee of Great Britain stopped to help exhausted brother Jonathan over the line.
While he admitted this week he had struggled to find motivation in training during the off-season, after the high experienced with those performances, he had since reignited the fire he needed to tackle the new year with vigour.
“I’ve obviously set my sights much higher now, and I believe I’m capable of so much more. I’m not thinking about top 10s anymore, I’m thinking about medals and podiums,” Schoeman said.
“Definitely at the end of the year I want to be ranked in the top three (in the world).”
Alongside experienced campaigner Richard Murray, who was edged into fourth place in Rio after recovering from a broken collarbone last season, the duo were expected to lead a powerful South African charge on the international circuit this year.
Accustomed to a fast start as a strong swimmer, Schoeman hoped to take another step forward by improving his speed on the run, in order to put up more of a fight in the latter stages of a race.
“My priority has always been to make the run the best that it can be. I’ve still got a lot of potential, and a lot of room for improvement, and we’ve been working on some of the small basics and getting strong,” said the Durbanite, who is coached by his father Joe and swimming mentor Alisdair Hatfield.
“Before the season has started, I’m already hitting some personal bests in training. There are some very exciting things to look forward to towards the end of the year with my running, and I think it’s going to be even better than last year.”
While he admitted he faced the pressure of additional expectation, Schoeman remained confident of his ability to take on the global elite.
He would get his first chance to regain momentum on home soil when he lined up in the World Cup race in the Mother City next Saturday.
“I’ve always been that kind of underdog guy, trying to get through, and now I’m like that name that everyone talks about, and they expect me to do well,” he said.
“So there’s a bit of pressure, but I’ve been training pretty hard this off-season. I’m very excited to start racing and see what I can do, and how much better I can get.”