Van der Walt sets his sights on continental title

After winning the 200m titles in the SA U/20 and senior national championships, 19-year-old Armand van der Walt has set himself the target of winning the Africa title at the African Championships in Accra, Ghana, in August.

On March 25 at the U20 Championships at Msunduzi Athletics Stadium, Pietermaritzburg van der Walt won the 200m final in 20.76 and then a week later at the national championships at McArthur Stadium, Potchefstroom he shocked the country as he won the senior title in 20.50. 

Speaking to the Sowetan last night at the Tuks Stadium during the ASA Grand Prix where he finished second in the 200m behind Sinesipho Dambile, van der Walt described winning the national title as crazy. 

“I was there for the experience, just to run, it was crazy, I don't even know what happened,” van der Walt said. 

With winning comes expectation and attention, and Van der Walt has entered the sphere. This is something he knows comes with the territory and is not phased by it.

“I don't even know how to feel about that, it's stressful because everyone expects you to win, they want you to win. But it's alright, there are so many races left in my life, and this is just the start. It's important to enjoy because if you don't enjoy you will never love the sport and do the best that you can do.

Though the Grasfontein pupil is running at an impressive rate, he has noted that he needs to improve on his bend heading into the final 100m.

“I need to improve my bend, I'm behind there, I'm fifth or fourth out of the bend. I need to get that right, if I get that bend right I'll run well this year. The last 100m is my speciality, so I need to get that first 100m and then I'll be fine,” he said.

The year for Van der Walt is not yet done, he has his eyes set on the continental title in his favoured 200m.

“I will go back to my training, I've only been racing the in the last two weeks, I will start training for the African champs. The plan is to get the African title. It's just about getting down to 20.20 or 20.21, so I need to focus and train because it's a goal for this year,” Van der Walt said,