Rio De Janeiro – Each step Henri Schoeman took towards the Olympic triathlon bronze medal was a step driven by the knowledge of his family supporting him back home.
Schoeman banished the fear and uncertainty of illness that threatened his maiden appearance at the Olympic Games to produce the race of his life to win his first major international triathlon medal.
“Maybe tomorrow when I wake up with a medal around my neck I will probably believe it but for now I am just trying to soak it all in,”
“I could imagine them (his family) screaming in front to the TV, and just going crazy, I could just imagine it while I was racing.
“I could feel their power driving me forward and I’d like to thank everybody back home for supporitn me.”
Schoeman had been battling with high fever in the buildup to the race, and brought back memories of the chest infection that has plagued him in the past.
“Two days ago I was struggling with some high fever which is not the best thing as your health and your future comes first,” Schoeman said.
“I was at a point where I was so emotional two days ago that I was in tears, I wasn't doing any training. I was just laying in bed trying to recover. It is hard mentally because you prepare 15 years of your life for this.”
Chest, ear and sinus scans the day before gave Schoeman the all clear, and the confidence going into the race to make his debut count.
He got out of the waters of the Copacabana in the 1.5 kilometre swim in 15th place only 11 seconds off the pace but had a slow transition before joining a breakaway of 10 riders on the bike leg.
He started the run leg in sixth place moving into fourth place after the first lap on the 10km run before moving into third place into the second which he doggedly held on to.
Schoeman got out of the water in 15th place just 10 seconds off the pace in the 1.5km swim, a 40km bike ride and a 10km run event.
Defending champion Alistair Brownlee of Britain held onto the title finishing first in 1:45:01 with his brother Jonathan finishing shortly behind him in silver with 1:45:07.
Schoeman stretched out his arms in victory as he entered the final stretch crossing the line in 1:45:43 with a compatriot Richard Murray storming in behind him just seven seconds later.
“I just wanted a breakaway and get a few guys away which gave us a chance to get away from the fast runners and it all just worked out,” Schoeman said.
“On the last lap I just knew I had to dig deep and hold onto that third, on that final stretch I was basically sprinting for my life.”
Although the pundits believed Schoeman could finish in the top 10 of the triathlon the smart money was rather on team-mate Murray, who has been among the top competitors on the world circuit over the last few years.
But in Henri’s mind there was never a shadow of a doubt that he could step onto the podium even though he has not won a medal on the ITU series.
“I’ve been believing in me having an Olympic medal for some time, and it has been a dream all of my life,” Schoeman said.
He came into the Games in seventh place on the ITU World Triathlon Series rankings which was a good indication of his potential.
Schoeman was the second Olympian in his family following in the footsteps of his older brother Riaan, who competed at both the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Games, but never advanced past the heats in the 400m individual medley. -
Independent Media