Athletics South Africa – News – GALANT MAKE HISTORY WITH 2 GOLD MEDALS

The ultimate goal of most athletes is to win at least one gold medal at a national championship before they retire.

To win two medals at the same championship, on the same day and within the space of two hours, certainly seems impossible.

But when Elroy Galant (on Saturday,14 September), first won the 4km race at the South African Cross Country Championship in Potchefstroom and, merely 30 minutes later, began  to compete in the 12km race, winning it as well, he emphatically proved that this feat was possible. 

Galant also won the 12km race at last year's Cross Country Championship in Amanzimtoti.

It was the first time in the history of the South African Cross Country Championship that an athlete was able to win two races on the same day.

Galant was quick to point out that his coach, Jean Verster, was the main instigator who persuaded him to go for the double gold.

"Jean believed right from the beginning that I would be capable of doing it and he continued to motivate me to give it go.

"What made matters somewhat easier in the 12km race, was that Stephen Mokoka and Gladwin Mzazi were not competing.

"This meant that I could afford to ease off slightly.  But then again, there is no such thing as an easy race at a national cross-country championship.

"In each of the six laps that we ran there were 11 small climbs.  This meant that, in total, we had to run up and down 66 times and that sapped a lot of energy."

Winning the two gold medals at the South African Championship was an excellent way for Galant to conclude an exciting season.

Other highlights for Galant were when he twice came close to improving Shadrack Hoff's 18-year-old South African 5000m record of 13:14.16, which dates back to 1995.

At the South African Championship in Durban Galant won in a time of 3:16.22 and then in Heusden-Zolder his time was 3:15.87.

Galant and Hoff are the only two South Africans ever who managed to run the 5000m in a time faster than 3:20.00.

Galant also impressed earlier this season with his 20^th place finish at the Cross Country Championship in Poland. It was the fourth best performance ever achieved by a South African.

Mokoka finished 15^th in 2011 and Shadrack Hoff was also 15^th in 1996.  Whaddon Nieuwoudt was 20^th in 2000.

Galant will be busy in 2014.  He will represent South Africa at the African Cross Country Championship, the African Athletics Championship and very likely also at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

But first things first. His immediate goal for 2014 will be to qualify for the IAAF World Indoor Championship (7-9 March) in Poland.

His first experience of indoor running was at last year's World Indoor Championship in Istanbul, Turkey, where he improved Juan van Deventer's national record in the 3000m to 7:48.

 

Athletics South Africa – News

 

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