‘I’m in the shape of my life’: Kyle Blignaut targets World Champs medal

After getting his season off to a slower start than usual, shot put star Kyle Blignaut says he is ready to get going as he targets a medal at the World Athletics Championships later this year.

Competing for only the second time in 2023, Blignaut set a season’s best of 20.03 metres at the ASA Grand Prix meeting in Potchefstroom on Wednesday night.

Though the block at the front of the circle broke, which delayed his event by more than 40 minutes while it was being replaced, Blignaut launched the shot nearly three metres clear of anyone else in the field.

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“I wanted to have a crack tonight and get some experience back because I haven’t competed much this year and I just wanted to get back into the thick of things,” Blignaut said.

A former world junior champion, Blignaut finished sixth at the Tokyo Olympics two years ago. And while he earned the silver medal at the African Championships in Mauritius last season, he has struggled to take further steps forward in his senior career, settling for seventh place at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

International focus

Provided he achieves the qualifying criteria, the 23-year-old athlete is eager to target a medal at the World Championships in Budapest in August.

Having avoided competing too much during the domestic season, he is focussed on the 2023 international campaign and he is confident of improving his personal best of 21.21m when he gets to Europe.

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“This year I’ve really taken a different approach because I want to start peaking at major championships. That’s my focus now,” he said.

“I’m doing lots of volume and strength training, which is hard on the body and it’s hard to throw well when you’re doing those sorts of workouts, but I’ll start doing more explosive work within the next five weeks and then I think the distances should start to come.

“I’m in the shape of my life at the moment. I’m the strongest I’ve ever been and I’m really putting in a lot of hours in the gym. I’m also starting to throw more now, working on my technique, and I think all these things should add up to me having a good season.”