The Advertiser asked:
How did your career take off?
It started in Grade 4 where I initially did high-jump for the fun of it, until my teacher then, Hettie Muller, who’s since moved to New Zealand, told me I was good in the sport. That’s when my career really took off. I made SAs (South African Championships) that year where I finished 10th in Durban.
Which primary school did you go to?
Laerskool Baanbreker.
What are the biggest challenges in the sport?
Getting yourself to train. You train to compete with the world; when you go to an international meeting and see how those guys train, you realise how much more effort you have to put in all the time. It’s also time-consuming.
Take me through your training session.
I train every day of the week except Fridays. I also have night training sessions at home, which include stomach exercises. During pre-season and in-season gym comes in.
Do you have a specific diet?
No, I’m supposed to, but I don’t. It’s impossible to go on a diet because my family eats too much. My mother knows the food that I need to eat so she always prepares my meals. My younger brother never finishes his food though, so I always eat that too.
What’s your favourite dish?
Sheeesh! It’s tough to say, I’ve got so many; but I’ll have to go for bobotie (a local dish consisting of spiced minced meat baked with an egg-based topping).
I’m pretty sure you’ve had your fair share of dominance in school meetings, what would you say are your inter-high athletics’ best moments?
At this year’s inter-high the rain was pouring and people never thought it was possible to achieve big jumps, and I achieved 2.11m. Last year, I jumped 2.07m when I jumped in front of the whole school watching, which was really motivating. I hadn’t jumped over 2m before I cleared 2.07m, so it was a special moment. That’s when everything started to fall into place, it was a real confidence booster. Both meetings were at Germiston.
What are your career highlights?
Definitely the two world championships! The World Youth Championships in Ukraine last year, and this year’s World Junior Champs in the US. I finished 13th in Ukraine and 21st in the US.
Another highlight is that I’ve been a part of the South African Championships five times, and won all the meetings. This included u/11 at the Pilditch Stadium, u/12, 16 and 17 in Germiston and u/19 in Stellenbosch.
What is your ultimate goal in high-jump?
Definitely to be at the Olympics! With the Olympics it’s not necessarily about winning, but just being there would be a dream come true.
I’d also love to beat the SA record (2.38m), while I’d also like to break the SA u/19 record (2.32m).
On a lighter note, what do you do during that little spare time you get?
I actually have a lot of energy; I can’t just sit around doing nothing so I go out with friends to play tennis and golf, which is really relaxing.
Any role-models?
Ya, I actually love the guy that’s jumping, Mutaz Essa Barshim. He’s just 23 years old and already close to the world record.
*Barshim is the Asian record holder with a mark of 2.43m, two centimetres shy of the 2.45m world record held by Javier Sotomayor of Cuba.
Tiaan plans on moving to the US next year to carry on with his tertiary studies. His personal best mark is 2.18m. – @SabeloBoksburg
