HENRI Schoeman has already etched his name into the history books by winning South Africa’s first and only (up to this point) triathlon Olympic medal.
With days until the start of this year’s Paris Olympic Games, the 2016 Rio bronze medallist is hoping to once again make his country proud.
The 32-year-old is one of three triathletes including Jamie Riddle and Vicky van der Merwe competing at the games.
The Durban North resident has had a tough year recovering from a severe ankle injury and hopes to leave his mark on the games.
Also read: Paris Games: Glen Anil resident nets Olympic dream
“It has been a long road to recovery. I was injured in the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021 and I was out of the sport for a year and a half. There were times in my recovery that I doubted whether I could get back to the level needed to compete. I was somewhat on the backfoot but I’ve been working hard on building myself up physically and mentally again. The last few weeks have gone well, especially competing on the World Triathlon circuit again.
“I’ve experienced the elation of winning a medal in Rio in 2016 and then coming away devastated in 2021 in Tokyo not finishing so I’ve experienced both sides of the spectrum. One of the key points that I’m taking away is trying to focus on the present. I don’t think about what is coming up and rather focusing on what I can do now as best I can. That’s my motto leading up to Paris. Every race I go into I go to win. I don’t see myself as an athlete who just shows up to participate. I would love to medal and that is the goal,” he said.
Schoeman has also had a slightly curtailed opportunity to experience the Olympic triathlon course in 2023.
“We had the opportunity to participate on the course last year to test it out. Unfortunately I had a puncture 5km into the cycle race and my day was over pretty soon. I will have to do some research on the race route but I’m looking forward to the event,” he said.
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