Obstacle racer gets seventh place in world championships

Rope climbing, leopard crawling through mud and carrying sandbags were just some of the obstacles Oan de Waal (23) faced during the Obstacle Course Racing World Championships on October 25 and 26 in Ohio, USA. The Tuks student, who grew up on a banana farm in Kiepersol, was in his element during the competition and came seventh in his age group.

De Waal counts among the toughest athletes in SA and ranked second in the Warrior Series 2014. These obstacle-course races test athletes’ limits and he competed in several of the 16- to 21km races comprising 30 obstacles.

The student got hooked on the sport after a friend dragged him along to an event and is now a serious competitor. For exercise, he does rock climbing, body-weight exercises and jogs four to six times a week. Hard exercise, along with surrounding himself with positive people, is the secret to his achievements.

During the World Championships, De Waal had to crawl through tunnels, carry buckets filled with rocks and jump over walls but found the “running part” of the race the most difficult. “We don’t have such muddy, steep hills here in SA. We had to mostly climb on all fours in order not to slip and slide as much,” he commented. This athlete, however, believes that the obstacles are much easier than the ones in South Africa. “Ours are more challenging and much more fun. I think the Americans will have a tough time if South Africa host the World Championships.”

The competitors were pleasant, everyone got along very well and there was a good spirit among the mix of people from all over the world, De Waal says. This atmosphere also added to his amazing birthday on October 25. He says it was his best one yet and had a great time visiting the USA.

As it was his first trip to the country, he spent 10 days prior to the race exploring some famous attractions. He visited New York, took a bike trip through Central Park and enjoyed authentic Mexican food. He then went to Flint in Michigan, where he stayed over for a few days and exercised and jogged through the woods. “The woods and lakes are exceptionally beautiful there,” he remarked. He then took a trip to Detroit, where he visited Ford’s head office. De Waal had recently won a Ford Range bakkie and wanted to see what its head office and factory looked like. The athlete then toured Detroit’s football, baseball and basketball stadiums. After that, it was off to Cincinnati for the race.

The final-year engineering student says he now has a bit of work to catch up on and will have a few sleepless nights but will (hopefully) complete his degree in the next month.

De Waal aims to qualify and take part in the World Championships again next year but says he’ll have to practise running up and down hills if he wants to win.

To learn more about the Warrior Race or the World Champs, visit www.warrior.co.za or ocrworldchampionships.com