After breaking the SA 10km record at the Absa Run Your City race in Gqeberha on Sunday, long-distance runner Adriaan Wildschutt has vowed to break more records and is setting his sights on the Diamond League series.
Wildschutt defied a strong wind to win the race in 27:30, beating the 27:35 set by Precious Mashele at the same race in 2023. The 26-year-old athlete finished 21 seconds ahead of Kenyan Vincent Kipkorir, who finished in 27:49.
Kabelo Mulaudzi also ran under 28 minutes, finishing third in 27:59. Wildschutt, based in the US, said he is hungry for more records, especially in the Diamond League in Monaco in July and Paris in August.
“In the [European] summer, I will try to break the records again. I always try to break records,” Wildschutt said after the race.
“I really wanted to win, and I needed to get rid of the Ethiopian guy ... who was also making a big surge. In the Diamond League, it will be about breaking records and competing.
Wildschutt hungry for more victories after breaking SA 10km record
The US based runner defied a strong wind to win the Absa Run Your City race in Gqeberha on Sunday in 27.30
Image: Supplied
After breaking the SA 10km record at the Absa Run Your City race in Gqeberha on Sunday, long-distance runner Adriaan Wildschutt has vowed to break more records and is setting his sights on the Diamond League series.
Wildschutt defied a strong wind to win the race in 27:30, beating the 27:35 set by Precious Mashele at the same race in 2023. The 26-year-old athlete finished 21 seconds ahead of Kenyan Vincent Kipkorir, who finished in 27:49.
Kabelo Mulaudzi also ran under 28 minutes, finishing third in 27:59. Wildschutt, based in the US, said he is hungry for more records, especially in the Diamond League in Monaco in July and Paris in August.
“In the [European] summer, I will try to break the records again. I always try to break records,” Wildschutt said after the race.
“I really wanted to win, and I needed to get rid of the Ethiopian guy ... who was also making a big surge. In the Diamond League, it will be about breaking records and competing.
“Right now, I’m confirmed for the Paris and Monaco Diamond League, and we will see if we will do the third one. But we like to do two, take the break and [then] prepare for the World Championship.”
Wildschutt, who also holds the SA track 5,000m and 3,000m records, was pleased with his performance and said he had to work hard for his win.
“I knew the last 3 to 4km was going to be a real fight, but I also wanted to win so badly. I knew I had a guy with me, so I made a big surge at 3km and then again at 6km. And I knew it was going to cost me a lot in the last 3km,” he said.
“But if I didn’t make those moves, I wouldn’t have broken the record. I knew the last 3km was going to be a huge challenge to keep on pushing against the wind. I just keep squeezing and pushing and trying to see if I can get away from the wind a little bit, squeezing the last 2km.
“The closer I got, the more I realised I might be right there and I was making a big push in the last 500m, so I’m just happy that I was able to pull it off.”
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