My son more than my gold, says LJ
What he felt at the birth of his son Louis, beats picking up medals on the running track, says South African 400m hurdler LJ van Zyl.
Athlete LJ van Zyl has won more 400-hurdles races than he can remember.
He holds the national record, has a medal from the World Championships and gold medals from the Commonwealth Games, but says all of this pale in comparison to becoming a dad for the first time.
A new chapter started for Van Zyl and his wife Olympic marathon athlete Irvetteon Monday with the birth of their son.
“Being there seeing my son being born was the most amazing experience. I always wondered how it is going to be and now I can, in all honesty, say that it is definitely a better experience than any of the races I have won,” he said.
“There are no words to describe my feelings when I got to hold my son for the first time. The nurses told me to take off my shirt and hold him close to my chest.”
Van Zyl said the newcomer had quite a voice on him.
“But to me the sound of him crying is one of the most beautiful noises I have ever heard.”
The Tuks/hpc athlete said little Louis was quite skinny.
“He has an athletic build. His legs are constantly moving, a movement that mimics a cyclist’s. Maybe he will take up cycling one day. Actually I do not mind what he does when he grows up,”said Van Zyl.
“It would be nice if he takes to athletics, but if he does not, it is not going to be the end of the world. All Irvette and I want for him is happiness and health. Being a dad is just such a wonderful feeling.”
Unfortunately, Van Zyl had to put his role as dad on hold for a while as he was flying out on Wednesday to Brussels to compete in Friday’s Diamond League meet.
“I would have preferred not to go but I have given the organisers my word that I will be there so I feel it is just right that I do fulfill my commitments. Luckily Irvette supports me,” he said.
“I am literally just going to be in and out. On Saturday morning, I am already flying back to South Africa. It is going to be strange running my first race as a dad.”
Van Zyl said he wanted to make his boy proud.
“I am not going to commit myself to a definite result. My first goal is to run a time faster than 49 seconds if I can do it, there is always a chance that I can get a top three finish.”
Van Zyl is in for a tough challenge as Kenia’s world champion, Nicholas Bett, who set a world leading time of 47.79 seconds in Beijing is racing as is Jeffrey Gibson (Bahamas) who finished third in a time of 48.17 seconds at the World Championships.
Boniface Mucheru Tumuti (Kenia) who was 5th in Beijing in a time of 48.33 is also racing.
Van Zyl has been quite consistent, finishing second in the Diamond League meets in New York, Lausanne and London, which means he is currently 4th in the Diamond race.
Bershawn Jackson (US) who has won three Diamond League races will be crowned the champion.
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