Maxime Chaumeton targets SA 5km road record after causing upset on the track

After pulling off the biggest surprise of the SA Athletics Championships, Maxime Chaumeton hoped he could translate his impressive form into a national record next week.

In the last individual race at the domestic track and field showpiece in Potchefstroom on Saturday, Chaumeton stunned pre-race favourite Adriaan Wildschutt to win the men’s 5 000m title.

While Chaumeton has been one of South Africa’s top distance runners in recent years, Olympic 10 000m finalist Wildschutt (based in the United States) has been on a record-breaking spree, setting multiple national marks over the 3 000m, 5 000m and 10 000m distances.

And after setting a new SA 10km record of 27:28 on the road in Gqeberha two weeks ago, Wildschutt lined up as the firm favourite to retain his 5 000m title at NWU McArthur Stadium.

But Chaumeton made his intentions clear when he hit the front and opened a gap in the 12-and-a-half lap race, with Wildschutt ultimately forced to break away from the chase group and reel him in.

Mixing it up

After taking the lead, Wildschutt was entangled in a bizarre situation in the closing stages of the race when an athlete being lapped wouldn’t let him past, first pushing him into the third lane around a bend and then launching a sprint for a lap before withdrawing from the race.

Though Wildschutt reacted, sticking with the backmarker, Chaumeton sat back and let it play out before launching a late kick to surge past Wildschutt and charge to victory in 13:44.53, with Wildschutt settling for the silver medal in 13:53.05.

The athlete who joined the mix at the end of the race was a provincial teammate of Chaumeton, with both of them competing in the colours of Central Gauteng Athletics, but Chaumeton insisted it had not been a planned tactical decision. He did, however, admit that it had affected the race.

Controlling the race

Nonetheless, he was pleased his decision to go out hard had worked in his favour, as he controlled most of the contest.

“Adriaan has been racing a lot, and kudos to him because it’s extremely hard to do what he’s doing, racing overseas, coming back and hitting a 10km record. I’ve tried it myself and it’s very hard,” said Chaumeton, who is coached by former SA 10 000m record holder Hendrick Ramaala.

“So I knew the only way to really cook it was to go to the front and believe in yourself, not let the group come to you and at least secure second position.”

Chaumeton said he would now target his own South African 5km record (13:18) on the road at a race in Tokyo on Thursday.

“I have the only record Adriaan doesn’t have (over the distances they compete) and I’m trying to extend it a bit longer,” Chaumeton said.

“I would like to run a new national record and I think I can because we’re looking good. It’s just about doing it on the day.”