With a new technique and a new coach, promising South=20 African javelin thrower Philip Spies is ready to take on=20 the world’s best =20
ATHLETICS: Julian Drew=20
AFEW weeks ago South Africa’s top javelin thrower was=20 training at the Rand Afrikaans University track when Clive=20 Rice called from the stands enquiring whether his South=20 African Cricket Academy squad could run across the field.=20
Philip Spies nodded and as the 20-odd youngsters ran before=20 him fond memories cae flooding back. It was a sad day for=20 Spies back in 1988 during the first term of his matric year=20 at Lowveld High School in Nelspruit when he had to choose=20 between throwing the javelin and cricket.=20
“I had a big fallout with my principal and vice-principal=20 because they were convinced I should become a cricket=20 player and play first class cricket,” recalls Spies. “I was=20 having it tough because I had my athletics and cricket and=20 I also had to study.=20
“In the end though I was more of an individual at school=20 and the javelin is an individual sport. It’s not just about=20 winning but it’s depressing when as an individual you are=20 constantly doing well and yet your team is still losing.=20 You really can’t beat the feeling of the javelin and I can=20 say it was a bit like an addiction for me.”=20
With a surname like Spies it was perhaps inevitable that he=20 would one day be drawn to the javelin. His chance came at=20 14 when the school’s regular javelin thrower was injured.=20 Spies replaced him and came second and decided to continue=20 with his newfound talent. He was soon spotted by former=20 South African junior javelin champion Glen Tweedie who=20 phoned Spies’ mother and asked if he could coach her son.=20 That was the beginning of a partnership which would last=20 until Spies left for RAU in 1989. “Those five years with=20 Glen while I was school laid the foundations for my success=20 now,” says Spies.=20
Since then Spies has not had a coach except for a brief=20 spell with Tertius Liebenberg whose style did not suit=20 Spies and led to injuries. “At the end of 1991 when I had=20 recovered from my injuries I competed in the old Mobil=20 Series and I threw just under 78m after training for five=20 months on my own and I just couldn’t believe it,” says=20 Spies. =20
“I was reading a lot of articles from European countries=20 and fortunately with the javelin it’s a very aerodynamic=20 event and you can see very quickly if you are doing=20 something right or wrong. It took quite a while but I=20 started to know what I had to do to improve my throwing,”=20 he says.=20
Spies is not a big man in comparison to most javelin=20 throwers and it is his speed, timing and technique which=20 have made him a world class thrower. “It’s no good having=20 my kind of speed if you can’t apply it and that’s where my=20 days as a fast bowler have helped because my timing is=20 good. I’m much smaller than most of the guys and not as=20 strong but my speed is there and I can apply it and that’s=20 the difference.”=20
Earlier this year when Spies was warming up for the Engen=20 meeting in Pietersburg, former world record holder Steve=20 Backley from Britain looked on in amazement. “He asked me=20 if I was going to throw like that in the competition=20 because I was going so fast it looked like I was going to=20 kill myself. My speed has come on a lot this past year and=20 I would say that in Pietersburg it was probably at about 90=20 percent of where I want to be.”=20
On his last warm up throw Spies tore his spiked shoe and as=20 he only had one pair he knew he had to get a good effort in=20 on his first throw. It turned out to be his best effort to=20 date as the javelin sailed out to a world class personal=20 best of 84.02m. “I think I could have thrown a bit further=20 afterwards but my whole foot was sticking out of the front=20 of my spikes even though I had taped it up,” he says.=20
Spies got hold of an American book recently which revealed=20 he had been making a fundamental mistake in his throwing=20 technique. “In the last two weeks I’ve made a big change in=20 my grip and I now throw with my middle finger and thumb=20 instead of my index finger and thumb. This book on the=20 biomechanical analysis of the javelin throw says it’s=20 impossible to get the correct alignment using my old grip. =20
“Not having a coach I was never aware of that. I’ve always=20 thrown like that but it’s really only for beginners because=20 it’s more a more comfortable grip and those fingers are=20 stronger. with my new grip it has been biochemically proven=20 that you achieve a higher velocity and greater rotation of=20 the javelin and therefore you should get more distance.=20
“I’ve only been using it a few weeks now and already I can=20 feel the difference. I’ve been throwing over 70m with a=20 short run up which I wasn’t able to do before,” says Spies.=20
Last weekend he went to Finland to train for three months=20 with one of the world’s top javelin coaches, Leo Pusa, who=20 coached 1991 world champion Kimmo Kinnunen and 1988 Olympic=20 champion Tapio Korjus. “I met Leo in 1993 when I was in=20 Finland, I’d heard and read about him because he’s very=20 well known in Finland but he had a reputation as someone=20 who wasn’t fond of coachng a lot of athletes.=20
“I was at the track and he came up to me and in very broken=20 English told me I was doing a few things wrong. Over the=20 next two weeks he started to show an interest in me and=20 asked if he could help me and send me some programmes. I=20 just couldn’t believe he was showing so much faith in me.”=20
This week he will renew that acquaintance. “I think with=20 Leo’s expertise and my new grip I can really improve in=20 time for the world championships in August. If I can=20 achieve the same speed as I did in Pietersburg with my new=20 technique and the conditions are good then I can throw 88m=20 which could give me a bronze medal at the world=20 championships,” says Spies.=20
It has been a long and difficult haul for the 25-year-old=20 Spies who is now South Africa’s third-ranked male athlete=20 in the world after Okkert Brits and Riaan Dempers. but=20 should he achieve his goal in Gothenburg he will perhaps=20 start getting some of the attention ad rewards he deserves.=20