The feeling of breaking the South African 3000m record has not yet sunk in for prominent middle-distance runner Jerry Motsau.

Motsau smashed the SA record in Nembro, Italy, at the weekend when he clocked 7:41.06 to take 0.07 off the national 3000m record set by Juan van Deventer in Stockholm, Sweden, in July 2008.

Motsau must run the SA Olympic qualifying standard time of 03:36.20 in the men’s 1500m to guarantee his place in the Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, next month.

“I am overwhelmed and still cannot believe that am the one who broke the SA 3000m record. I feel that someone can pinch me and tell me that I am not dreaming,” said an emotional Motsau.

“The race was nice and motivating because the focus was not on the 3000m but the 1500m as we are trying to qualify for the Olympic Games over that distance. What happened is I could not get into the 1500m event and the race organisers asked if I could switch to the 3000m. I then quickly discussed it with my coach and we decided that it might be a good idea for me to do the 3000m instead of the 15000,” said Motsau.

Motsau surprised himself when he ran the race of his life in the seven-and-a-half lap to set a new record. He boosted his confidence with the unexpected record and now hopes to qualify for the Olympics in his preferred 1500m.

“The weather was fantastic. There was no wind and it was warm. The goal was to run the race and try to win and not worry about the times. I did not even know that I broke the record in the first place. To do this during an Olympic year is an unbelievable feeling. My ultimate goal is to make the Olympic team in the 1500m and go there to make the finals, not just to make up the numbers,” he said.