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Record-breaking Wildschutt sets his sights on Paris Olympics
In a historic performance on Friday evening, Wildschutt dipped under 13 minutes over the 5 000m distance.
Adriaan Wildschutt in action during the men’s 10 000m final at last year’s World Athletics Championships in Budapest. Picture: Anton Geyser/Gallo Images
Distance runner Adriaan Wildschutt says he has his sights firmly set on this year’s Olympic Games after opening his season in explosive fashion on Friday night.
Competing at a meeting held at Boston University, Wildschutt charged to an impressive victory in 12:56.76, shattering his own South African 5 000m short track (indoor) record.
The 25-year-old athlete made history by becoming the first SA athlete to dip under 13 minutes over the 5 000m distance on any surface.
In the process, he shattered his own national short track mark of 13:09.30 which he set in Boston in February last year.
Olympic preparation
Wildschutt, who had already qualified for the 5 000m event at the Olympics, felt his latest result was a big step forward towards the Paris Games in August.
“My big focus is the Olympics, so everything in-between is just getting ready for that,” he said in an interview with FloTrack.
“I’m not going to be racing a lot, so each race when I come in I will try to be as ready as possible and get fast times.”
