Adriaan Wildschutt has broken not one but three SA records in the past few months. Originally from Ceres, he's based in Arizona as part of a pro running team NAZelite. We touched base for some insight into the young star flying our rainbow flag as we head towards Paris 2024.
Adriaan, in the space of just four months, you’ve broken the South African record in the 3 000m, 5 000m and 10 000m! That’s insane, you have surpassed legends like Hendrick Ramaala who’s 10 000m record was set 24 years age – just one year aer you were born! Tell
us about these record-breaking performances.
It’s really exciting to know that my hard work has been rewarded in such an exhilarating manner. Holding three South African records on the track is certainly very special and I hope to deliver even more great performances throughout my running career. I truly believe I have
more to give, but for now I am very grateful for how things have gone for me in 2023 so far. A
lot of my success is down to my hard work and consistency, and the help of my team NAZelite, our sponsor Hoka, and my family.
Tell us who and what’s taken you from top 10s a few years back to record setting in recent years?
Running collegiately for Florida State University and competing in the USA’s Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) have hugely contributed to my development and transition into professional running. With the high level of training I received at Florida, the transition was rather smooth. I graduated with an MBA from Florida last year, so this year I’ve been able to focus on my running even more. But I wouldn’t say that “not having to deal with school” is the sole reason I’m doing so well. A lot of my success is as a result of a combination of things: professional coaching, elevation training, support from my team, brand and family.
Talking about family, tell us a little about your childhood growing up in Ceres and when you fell in love with running, or at least realised you had a special talent.
My brother Nadeel introduced me to running – and I fell in love with it at the very first practice my brother invited me to. Moos Hartnick was my very first coach. We grew up participating in various sports, including rugby, cricket, chess, and at some point soccer as well. But I gravitated more towards running, and having the ability to gauge your individual progress on a weekly basis was immensely rewarding.
We believe it was legend Zola Budd-Pieterse who recruited you (and your brother) to Coastal
Carolina University five years ago, after seeing you in action at the Cape Town Marathon. Tell us a little more about how you ended up moving to the United States.
Yes, Zola first recruited my brother in 2017, and I followed not long after. It was great that someone like Zola saw something in us. Without that move I probably would still be competing in SA, and things could have been a whole lot different. In the US, you still have
to get up every day, put in the work and push your body to its ultimate maximum. However,
having more resources has made things a bit easier. It’s great not having to worry about
basic running necessities. I was very injured when I arrived at Coastal Carolina University and
Zola did a great job of making sure I was doing things that would get me healthy but still keep me competitive.
Read up on our full interview with the freakishly fast, Adriaan Wildschutt in the Summer edition of RUN Mag or you can read it in the digimag for those who prefer digital.