'South Africa has given me a lot' - Piet Wiersma signs first full pro contract with Nedbank
In a race billed as an assault on Precious Mashele's 27:35 SA 10km Record, Piet Wiersma was a surprising inclusion in the field of elite athletes announced to race the HOLLYWOODBETS DURBAN 10KM. Known for his abilities as a world class ultra-marthoner, The Flying Dutchman lined up alongside su 28-minute 10km performers including the likes of Elroy Gelant, defending champion Kabelo Mulaudzi and Thabang Mosiako on Sunday (29 September, 2024). The 2024 Comrades Marathon champion revealed that he had decided to take on the lightening fast course as part of his preparation for a 42,2km race later this year.
"After Comrades I took some time off for about two months or so. I kept running a little bit, but it's since early August that I have been training seriously again when I got back to Kenya. I've had almost two full months of training there, where I've been working a lot on my speed because I have the ambition of running the Valencia Marathon in December so this race was all about sharpening up and getting the speed in," he told #TheTopRunner.
Although the windy conditions laid waste to any plans of national records, Lesotho's Tebello Ramakongoana still managed to stop the clock in 28:06 after out-sprinting Gelant in the home straight, while his countrywoman Neheng Khatala won the women's race in 32:25. Wiersma, who is the holder of a 2:18:59 personal best set at the 2023 Sevilla Marathon crossed the finish line at the King's Park Outer Fields in 32:35 to take 58th place.
"It's been so long since my last 10km race - almost six years. It was a fast course with fast guys," he added. "t's a whole different animal. It requires a lot of speed work and that's what I've been up to in the last couple of weeks. Running this HOLLYWOODBETS DURBAN 10KM was a good initial test before running the marathon in December. I feel that I should be able to improve a lot."
Despite failing to reach his target of running close to the 30 minute mark, the man who shot to stardom when he took a dramatic second place just two seconds behind Tete Dijana during his debut Comrades Marathon in 2023, remains upbeat. Wiersma who arrived in South Africa as an unknown quantity after claiming the bronze medal at the 2022 World 100k Championships, says his performances in SA have changed his life for the better which is why he will always return to race here.
"South Africa has given me a lot. It's given the opportunity to finally train for the first time in my life as a professional athlete. Next week I'll be signing my contract with Nedbank which will be my first professional contract which will keep me training and moving towards the future. In the last two months I've been able to go back to Kenya and live there and that's because South Africa has given so much. And now that I'm living and training in Kenya it's a little bit easier to come back to South Africa and race. Just being back here makes me feel happy because I love this country and I love the people."
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