Johannesburg - Qualifying for the Rio Olympics came as a surprise to rising 400m hurdler Lindsay Hanekom but that has only inspired him to dream bigger.
Going into 2016, Hanekom was merely hoping to break through the 50-second barrier in the 400m hurdles.
“It came as a big surprise to me, people always tell you it is a four-year cycle and you have to prepare for it but now it is so close and I’ve qualified so it is a dream come true and I really look forward to the Games,” Hanekom said.
“The confidence is definitely there and I’ve been able to go sub-50 five times this season so I don’t have to doubt myself anymore.”
He first dipped below 50 seconds in March, setting a personal best time of 49.90sec in Pretoria before doing it again three days later in Cape Town shaving 0.09 off his time.
The sub-50 kept on coming and at the South African Student Championships in Polokwane he missed the qualifying mark by 0.07, clocking another PB of 49.47.
A week later, he finally made his breakthrough knocking 0.44 off his previous best, posting a time of 49.03 at the SA Open in Bloemfontein to secure his place in Rio.
“The stadium clock in Bloemfontein did not work and although I knew it would be a sub-50 time, I did not expect a qualifying time never mind a time of 49.03 seconds,” Hanekom said.
“I was floating on cloud nine for a while and I realised I could (do) so much more.”
Hanekom said that as a youngster watching South African 400m hurdles royalty Llewellyn Herbert and LJ van Zyl perform on the global stage inspired him to pursue his own Olympic dream.
“I also wanted to stand there and represent my country at the Olympic Games and make everybody proud,” the Tuks-HPC athlete said.
“I hope to gain some valuable experience but I would like to at least reach the semi-final and if I make it into the final I would be very happy.”
The Olympics will be Hanekom's second outing on a major stage after he reached the semi-finals at last year’s World Student Games in Gwangju, South Korea.
A quad injury has kept Hanekom sidelined since his last race in May but he is hoping to be in his best possible shape next month.
Hanekom, who grew up in Blackheath, is one of three men’s 400m hurdlers spearheaded by national record-holder Van Zyl, and Le Roux Hamman who are heading to Brazil.
Training on the same track as Van Zyl, Hanekom believed he could follow in the world bronze medalists’ footsteps.
Van Zyl clocked a South African record of 47.66 at the Tuks track in 2011, a mark Hanekom believed he could beat in the future.
“We all dream of it and I believe in three years’ time I would be able to break the South African record considering that I have improved from 51.56 seconds to 49.03 seconds in a year and seven months, in spite of injuries,” Hanekom said.
“My coach (Nico van Heerden) tells me I am not yet on the training programme he has planned for me because my body is not conditioned for it yet."So I hope to one day run 47.2 seconds.”
The Star