Van Dyk excels in Japan
2007-10-29 22:44
Cape Town - South African Paralympic athlete Ernst van Dyk made up for last year's disappointing performance when he won the Oita wheelchair marathon in Japan on Sunday.
The Cape Town veteran stormed home in a career-best time of one hour 23 minutes 22 seconds, beating Japan's Yamamoto Hiroyuki and Spaniard Roger Verdaguer into second and third place respectively.
"I rate this race very highly," Van Dyk said on Monday. "There were 300 top-class competitors racing over a course that tests one to the limit."
Last year, Van Dyk was the favourite but he finished ninth. This time the 34-year-old Stellenbosch athlete went all out to prove his mettle.
He had to withstand a mighty onslaught from a number of the world's top wheelchair stars.
"It has not been one of my best seasons. I was seeded only 11th for this race. The Japanese media wrote me off and I was not even invited to a news conference before the race," he revealed on Monday.
"I just kept my emotions in check, saving them for race day.
"The race began fast and the first 10km produced a murderous pace. I had decided earlier to hold back a little and wait for things to happen because no one was expecting anything from me."
Van Dyk stayed just behind the leading group of 12 racers, knowing what he had to do.
"I merely tried to stay with the leaders and later ensured I was among the front five.
"With 7km left, there were only 10 of us. Then the road narrowed and some made errors of judgment on that stretch. Two of the top guys crashed.
"Last year's winner, Japan's Sashara Hiroki, and Switzerland's Heinz Frey (fourth last year) were also involved.
"The dynamics of the race changed and I moved into third position. With 3km left, I took the lead and over the last 500m, I accelerated.
"Fortunately no one responded to the challenge and in the process I set the best 42.2km time of my career."
Van Dyk hopes to maintain his form in the New York Marathon, which is scheduled for Sunday.