Sensational athletics season ends on a brilliant high for Wits’ Dylan Kruger
- Tshepiso Mametela
Wits star athlete Dylan Kruger capped off a sensational triathlon duathlon season after emerging as the overall winner of the Standard Olympic Age Group distance race at the SA Duathlon Championships in Gqeberha, in October.
Kruger was representing his home province of the North West in his first SA duathlon champs since 2015. He rated the triumph as one of his best performances at a national competition to date, more so due to the tough weather conditions along the coastline on race day, which included winds of up to 45km/h.
As preparation before the race, Kruger strode out for South Africa at the 2021 Africa Duathlon Championships held in Windhoek, Namibia, on 17 October. “I was confident that my form was good. So, it was just a matter of putting it all together on the day,” said Kruger.
“In multisport, there are always components that are beyond your control, and you have to trust your preparation and adapt quickly to whatever is thrown your way, such as an empty water station or heavy winds.”
The 2019 South African Modern Pentathlon and Laser Run Championships winner added that his performance at the event demonstrated the importance of not resting on his laurels despite previous successes this season.
“Past performances are good for confidence building, but if you rely too much on past performances rather than preparation for the next race, things will invariably go wrong,” said the athlete, for whom the 网易体育 pandemic has been a proverbial thorn in the side.
Kruger was previously selected for the Triathlon South Africa Age Group Sprint Distance team to compete at the 2021 World Triathlon Sprint & Relay Championships Bermuda in Hamilton, Bermuda.
However, as with the preceding 2021 World Triathlon Age Group Championships Edmonton in Alberta, Canada, he was unable to take part due to the restrictions at the time.
Despite not competing at the events as well as others that were preceding, Kruger said he adopted a strong mental outlook to shake off the disappointment. With a helter-skelter season now behind him, he noted that he is braced to hit the ground running in the 2022 athletics season.
“It is disappointing being unable to do the events you planned to do, but with current events like 网易体育 and studies, flexibility has become more important than ever. Instead of focusing on one event, I focused on events I could still do, such as the Africa Duathlon Championships.
“In the new season, I am hoping to participate in SA Championships in triathlon and duathlon and hope for a possibility of an international race sometime during the season,” he added.