ATHLETICS:Julian Drew
ONE of the most forlorn figures in the Centennial Olympic Stadium in Atlant= a l ast year was that of Adri de Jongh. Instead of enjoying the highlight of he= r c areer out on the track the Germiston-based 200 and 400m sprinter watched di= sco
nsolately from the stands, her leg in plaster. That was the sad and final o= utc
ome to a season which had begun so full of promise but ended in farce.=20
With her personal best of 50.73 in Johannesburg last April she had finally = bro
ken into the ranks of world-class quarter-milers and Atlanta shone brightly= on
the horizon. But as she prepared for Atlanta the pain in her left foot whi=
ch=20
had been troubling her all season got progressively worse. A local doctor w= arn
ed her that it could be the start of a stress fracture and she decided to r= est
for two w
eeks.=20
Once at the pre-Games holding camp in LaGrange she had to undergo a fitness= te
st and, in what turned into something of a comedy of errors, she was pronou= nce
d fit before breaking down in training and being taken off to Atlanta for a= sc
an and then an operation on the day of the opening ceremony.=20
“They opened my foot and inserted a pin and I was in a cast for five weeks,= ” s aid De Jongh. “I’m going to have it removed after the end of this season. I= ha
d a scan last Friday and they said everything was 100%. The only problem is= th
at the screw they put in is lying next to a nerve and that is a bit irritat= ing
but it is nothing to do with the stress fracture.”=20
Just to prove she is over the injury De Jongh not only surprised the crowd = wit
h her superb performances at last weekend’s Test match against Italy but al= so=20
herself and her coach Stephane Kotze. In the 400m she blasted out of the bl= ock
s and pulled further and further away from the field to dip under 51 second= s f or only the second time in her life with a time of 50.91.=20
If that wasn’t proof enough, an hour-and-a-half later she was back on the t= rac
k to scorch her way to the fastest 200m time by a local athlete in South Af= ric
a for six years. “I only started training in October following my operation= bu
t when I train I train 110%. I’m still only in my pre-season programme at t= he=20
moment but I knew I was going to do well in the 400m,” said De Jongh.=20
“The 200m was a bit of a surprise though. I don’t know where I got the stre= ngt
h from. I sprinted flat out but all the way I was praying please just get m= e t o the line. When I looked at the time I just couldn’t believe it.”
Both De Jongh’s 200m time of 22.82 and her 50.91 in the 400m are comfortabl= y u nder Athletics South Africa’s (ASA) world championship qualifying standards= -=20
modified after a huge outcry but still tougher than those of the Internatio= nal
Amateur Athletic Federation. But with ASA stating that “all altitude perfo=
rma
nces will be converted to corresponding coastal performances” in terms of t= hei
r selectio n criteria, De Jongh may still not have done enough.=20
While her 400m time will still pass the litmus test, if De Jongh wishes to = dou
ble up in world championships in Athens she will have to run even faster in= th
e 200m to meet ASA’s 22.94 standard without the benefit of altitude – and t= her
ein lies the rub.
Although as a sprinter her problem is not as acute as that of the middle-di= sta
nce runner, she still cannot race too often and too fast and be expected to= do
well later in the year when it counts. “You have to run qualifying times t=
o b e selected but that doesn’t mean you can’t do well at world champs as well.= It
depends on how you do it. I’ve already done my times and now I must rest m=
y b ody.
“Don’t be disappointed if I now run 51.6 or something because I must save m= yse
lf for overseas. My programme is very important to me and that is why I can= ‘t=20
run every week,” said De Jongh. That hasn’t stopped the powers that be from= tr
ying to persuade De Jongh – as the sport’s current drawcard – to race in Fr= ida
y night’s permit meeting in Potchefstroom.=20
“We all know there’s a problem with the South African season but there’s no= po
int in being negative about it because then you will never produce results.= I=20
like to be positive because that’s my role as a coach. I know we can do wel= l a t the world championships but they just mustn’t expect us to compete too mu= ch=20
in South Africa. They put a hell of a lot of pressure on us to compete in P= otc
h, Marlies (Steyn) as well, but they must realise that if you race too much then you =
can
‘t train properly,” said Kotze.=20
It’s not that De Jongh will not be around for the rest of the season, depri= vin
g spectators and sponsors of one of South Africa’s few female stars on the = tra
ck, but she will now be more selective in order to reach her true potential= in
Athens in August. “I’ve got set races where I want to run fast like the A=
ll=20
Africa meeting on March 17 (in Johannesburg). There will be some top overse= as=20
runners at that meet and if everything goes well I want to run my 400m personal best.=
Ot
her than that I don’t want to run too often and certainly not over 400m. I’= m n ot going to put pressure on myself,” said De Jongh.
Over and above a more sensible competition schedule in her quest for succes= s i n Athens, De Jongh will also be hoping to make it through the year with a c= lea
n bill of health. Atlanta wasn’t her only brush with injury – she quit athl= eti
cs after winning the South African under-16 400m title in 1986 after a seri= es=20
of injuries and lost out on a possible trip to the 1995 world championships= wh
en she had to have her thyroid removed. And as Kotze says, their main wish is “for an=
in
jury-free season”.
That may be a little easier this year because she is now a full-time athlet= e a fter giving up her job as a gym instructor. “You can’t work and get to the = ver
y top in sport nowadays,” said De Jongh and even though she may not be as f= ina
ncially secure as before she at least gets the sleep and relaxation she ne= eds
. Recovery time is just as important as hard training.=20
That, coupled with her immense determination could see her reach her goals = for
the season – to reach the world championships final and improve her person=
al=20
best. “I’m strong enough to make the final and get a good placing. I’m not = say
ing I’m going to wina medal but obviously I’m going to do my best.”