At the Germiston Grand Prix Meeting, Edmund du Plessis, the 800m champion of South Africa, continued his impressive season as he secured the second position behind Botswana’s Boitumelo Masilo who clinched victory in the men’s 800m.
The Tuks athlete, who only turned 21 two weeks ago, is having a good season. Of the eight 800-metre races he competed in, he won three and was second on three occasions. More importantly, he has got two titles to his name. Apart from being the SA champion, he has also won during the Gauteng North Championships.
Last week during the first Grand Prix Meeting at Tuks, things did not quite go as Du Plessis had hoped. Over the last 400 metres, there was a nervous moment or two when one athlete seemingly lost his balance and nearly went down. It created a domino effect. This chaos caused the Tuks athlete to be boxed in. The net result was that he ended up finishing last.
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Edmund du Plessis is certainly not training three hours daily to make up numbers on the track.
“Through experience, I have learned that each race has unique challenges. I usually have a look at the start list. It gives you a rough idea of how the race could play out. If there are many fast runners, I know I got to be in the front from the start. At other times you know it will be a tactical race.”
According to his coach, Wiam Grimes, Du Plessis’s best quality as an 800-metre runner is his kick over the last 200 metres.
“In the off-season, I will work on getting Edmund to be faster over 400 metres. It needs to be faster if he wants to be genuinely competitive as an 800-metre runner. I am impressed by his stamina. If Edmund needs to, he can be competitive in quite a few races in a short space of time.
“This season, our focus is to try and get Edmund to qualify for the World Student Games. The long-term focus will be to qualify for a World Championships or the Olympic Games.”
At the moment, Du Plessis, a third-year medical student, ‘s biggest challenge is finding enough hours in a day to do what needs to be done.
“Some mornings, I get up early to train for about two hours. Then I am off to the university as my classes start at eight and only finish at four in the afternoon. Then I am off the track to train seriously to be a better 800-metre runner for another hour.”
Marli Viljoen is another Tuks athlete whohas impressed. She impressed earlier this season when she ran 51.87s over 400 metres in Potchefstroom. It is a massive personal best. She was third during last week’s Grand Prix meeting, running 52.25s.
