Getting older is seemingly not slowing Wayne Snyman down. This morning in Cape Town, he won the 20km race walk at the South African Championships for the sixth time.
The "Old Man" of Tuks Athletics was even asked to set the pace by his younger rivals. The 37-year-old complied, but no one could keep up when he told them he was upping it. The youngsters' aim was to try and qualify for the African Champs. Snyman has already qualified.
Snyman won in 1:28:46. Tumisang Pule was second, clocking 1:31:31 and Mzwakhe Mavundlda third in 1:31:44. According to the Tuks athlete, he did not overexert himself.
"To be honest, I was not able to race flat out. I took a two-week break after I competed in the Czech Republic. An old man's body does not just 'kick' into gear. It has got to be nursed back into action," Snyman joked.
"My coach and I had a sit down before the national championships and agree it is back to basics. It means long hard hours on the road, clocking miles."
Snyman is in good knick this season. Earlier this season in Oman, he finished seventh during the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships. He was ninth in the Czech Republic three weeks ago, clocking 1:20:39. It is just 0.22s slower than his personal best time.
"I was hoping to improve on the South African record of 1:19:18, but the buildup to the race in the Czech Republic was a comedy of errors. I missed flights, my suitcase got lost and to top it all, it started snowing on race day. This meant I was mentally not in a good space to set a record."
Snyman has qualified to race the 20km and 35km during the World Championships in the USA.
The Tuks Sports Science student, Marione Fourie, is the South African 100m-hurdles champion for a second consecutive year. Her winning time was 13.43s. It is guaranteed that she would have been faster if she was not challenged by a strong headwind. She won her heat running 13.14s.
The 100m-hurdles were an all Tuks affair. Charlize Eilerd was second in 14.00s and Marzaan Loots third in 14.17s.
Tuks's Ruan de Vries finished second in the 110m-hurdles running 13.82s.