Gerda Steyn smashed her personal best in 2019, and will feel confident going to Tokyo in August.
There are many hopeful South African athletes who believe they have a genuine chance of a medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. But if the World Athletics World Championships in Doha was anything to judge by, we might as well watch the aquatics and sevens rugby and then switch our TVs off … until the marathon.
“I was watching videos on the Comrades Marathon and I saw how Caroline Wöstmann destroyed the field in 2015. The Russian twins were still there and she flew past them,” she told the Mail & Guardian. “After I won the Comrades, there has not only been a change in my career, but in my life as well,” Steyn said.
“I was very motivated, and I see myself as an athlete, not just an ultramarathon runner; I wanted to improve on my time,” she said. Steyn took part in the New York Marathon in November 2019 and this is where she embodied her statement. Despite narrowly missing out on a top 10 finish, she was always in control of her run and eased past the Olympic qualifying time. She ran a time of 2:27:48, which meant that she improved on her personal best time by almost six minutes.
“I think what will make the marathon at the Olympics very different compared to a normal city marathon will be the heat. I think the day of the marathon will very much determine the outcome of it,” she said.
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