Johannesburg - Elroy Gelant had turned early frustration into hope as he smashed the South African men’s 5 000m record at the FBK Games in Hengelo in The Netherlands on Sunday clocking 13:04.88.
He improved the previous record held by Stephen Mokoka by nearly seven seconds and launched himself into 11th place in the world rankings.
Gelant shaved almost 10 seconds off his previous best of 13:15.87 from 2013.“I really didn’t expect such a fast time, training went well recently and I expected a sub-13:15 which was my previous best,” Gelant said.
“I just told myself to stay with the lead runners and that is what I did.“I pulled it through for the South African record but that was never the plan. I wanted to take it step by step, first targeting my PB before going for the record.”
Gelant produced a promising run at the Varsity Athletics meet in Cape Town in March where he posted an Olympic qualifying time of 13:20.70.
That time was his third best of his career, and signalled a return to his form from when he set his PB back in 2013.His season took a slight dive at the South African Track and Field Championships in Stellenbosch in April where he finished second in 13:43.43.
“I went through a bit of a slump at nationals where I ran a time of 13:43, although my training suggested I was in 13:15 form,” Gelant said.
“I decided to take it step by step instead of going after the record and pushing myself too hard but perhaps I am in even better shape than 2013 which spells good things.
“It is now important that I look after my body and stay on my toes without racing too much.”
Gelant is slowly but surely moving up the world rankings which bodes well for his chances at the Olympic Games where a tactical race would even out the field.Gelant said he would take great confidence from his race in The Netherlands, and with a few minor adjustments he could be moving further up the field.
“I can take a lot of confidence out of this race and even though I broke the South African record, I picked up on a few mistakes which I can fix before the Olympics,” he said.
“Anything is possible at the Games and I think it will be a tactical affair where the final 1000m will decide who the medal winners will be.“So the lessons I’ve learned will be valuable with an eye on the Olympics.”
Gelant said at times he had lost faith in his own abilities, but his mentor Jean Verster remained confident his charge would deliver on his potential.
“He (Verster) told me it was the years of training that was finally showing and he had expected this from me,” Gelant said.
“Jean has always believed in me even though I questioned myself as an athlete at times.”
The 29-year-old has one final race in Europe on June 11 in The Netherlands before returning to South Africa for the Africa Championships in Durban from June 22-26.
“I will return to Durban for the first time since 2013, and I do enjoy running there,” Gelant said.
“I would like to finish among the top three in the 5000m which will give me a lot of confidence for the Olympic Games which would be a month away.”
The Star