Johannesburg - Unbeaten on South African soil in 2016, Irvette van Zyl will be hoping to take her good form to the biggest stage at the Rio Olympics when she competes in the women's marathon on Sunday.
Van Zyl boasts the best time of the three SA women qualified for the 42.2km event with the 2:32:20 she ran at the London Marathon in April. Lebo Phalula and Christine Kalmer are the other two women who will line up in the longest running event at the quadrennial showpiece.
Despite an unbeaten streak in road races in South Africa recently, Van Zyl told Modern Athlete her focus for 2016 has always been on the Olympic Games.
“I've heard about this 'unbeaten on SA soil' thing, but there are still a lot of races to come after the Olympics, and that can change very quickly,” said Van Zyl.
“The Rio marathon has always been my main goal for the year, but when I get back it will be back to the 10km Spar races in Joburg and Pretoria. If I manage to win both, then I will become the first athlete to win all five in the series in a single year. Rene Kalmer won four out of five in 2012 but then missed the last one due to injury, which I won. I'm almost at her mark now, but for now I'm not even thinking about those races, because Rio is the focus. I've just been getting the mileage in, because marathon training is a big increase, but the training has been going really well.”
Having also competed at the London Olympics in 2012, where an Achilles injury meant she had to drop out some 17km from the finish, Van Zyl said her preparation had been much better this time around.
“I took so much criticism after bailing in London, but I had aggravated my Achilles training on the gravel roads of the parks in London, and by the time I got to 17km the pain had become so bad that I just couldn't carry on. It felt terrible to bail, but I learnt valuable lessons as well, which is why this year I asked if I can only travel to Rio five days before my race. In London we went too early, first for a training camp, then the Olympic Village, with new physios, different training surfaces, different food, and more. This time I want to keep things 'normal' for as long as possible before going across.”
Van Zyl was optimistic she would be able to finish in the top-20.
“I would love to run a 2:30, because my ultimate goal is still to go under 2:30, but that is unlikely in Rio. I don't think times will be the issue, it will be down to the heat and humidity. Rio is much hotter than Pretoria, so I have been training at midday and trying my best to get ready for the conditions, but I won't know how well I can cope with it until I get there. That's why I say a realistic target is to try finish in the top 20 - and anything better I will definitely take!”
As for race tactics, unlike other middle African countries, Van Zyl said the South Africans would probably not work as a team.
“It's probably our biggest problem on the world stage that we don't work together like the Kenyans or other countries, but we don't train together, so it would be a bit much to expect us to suddenly race together. Sure, we will discuss tactics, but I think we're on different levels and run differently, so I think it unlikely we can race together. Obviously, we'll also see how the race goes, and maybe during the race we can adapt our tactics, especially if we are running together.” - African News Agency (ANA)