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Cornel Fredericks’ personal best time of 48.14 seconds, achieved in 2011, makes him the fifth fastest South African 400m hurdler so far in history.
But due to bad luck with coaches (he has had about six in eight years) and injuries, Fredericks has missed the sprinting explosion that has hit the country in recent years. To address this, he has moved to Bloemfontein and joined Ans Botha’s camp.
He tells us why.
What was your motivation to move to Bloemfontein, and how did the move come about?
It was the right time for me to leave Pretoria after six amazing years. It wasn’t easy to just pack my bags and leave because the High Performance Centre and Tuks became family to me. But the change was needed as I want to challenge myself in a different environment.
How long have you been training there, and how have you found it?
I started in Bloem in November. Training has been good, hard and challenging.
You’ve had your fair share of bad luck with injuries and coach turnover. How is your health at the moment?
It’s never nice for any athlete to be injured. You always want to be available and to perform at your best. My health is good in Bloem; I’ve been running for four months without any major niggles. My support group is also doing everything they can to keep me healthy and on the track.
And your shape when you compare it to seasons before at this time of the year?
I’m in a good space and working hard on and off the track. I had a couple of early season races and I’m happy.
You turned 29 on Sunday. How did you celebrate?
I’m very much the senior in our group now, but the group makes me feel like I’m still in my early 20s. It’s a youthful group of athletes; full of energy. We all motivate one another, and I have to lead by example.
Speaking of your age, you’re probably not really worried about getting older, given how long 400m hurdlers’ careers can go on for.
I still have another three or four good years of running in me and just want to give it my all in Bloemfontein. It depends on the individual athlete and how long their bodies can handle the high-intensity training and the competition load.
One of my athletics heroes, Félix Sánchez, was 34 when he won his second Olympic gold medal. That gives me more motivation to keep working hard.
After the good years from 2011 to 2014, do you feel like the forgotten man of South African athletics, given what others have done while you have had your struggles?
Track and field in South Africa have changed a lot. Thanks to Wayde van Niekerk, Luvo Manyonga, Ruswahl Samaai, Akani Simbine and Caster Semenya, many of our juniors started to believe that we as South Africans can be great on the international stage.
I still want to be part of this culture and make more history.
Ans Botha has a bit of a cult following in South Africa. What’s it like training with her? What makes her such a good coach?
Ouma Ans is a great coach. Her programmes are very demanding, but it gets the best out of her athletes. She’s 120% committed and hates it when you’re late for training and don’t communicate if you can’t make training sessions.
Has she had to make a couple of adjustments to her coaching, given that she trains flat sprinters?
Her coaching suits me perfectly and I’ve slotted in with what the group does. She coached hurdles for many years and I’m still learning so much from her training every day.
And what’s it been like training in the same camp as Wayde van Niekerk, even though you’re not training for the same event?
Wayde and the group made my arrival in Bloem so easy. They’re a friendly bunch of people. They’re easy to get along with, a hard-working group and they help each other on and off the field. This group is very competitive and that’s what I enjoy about being part of it. You’re always ready for sessions because you know the group will bring their A game.
Every day I’m learning from the fastest man to run the 400m. He’s really inspiring, not just to me, but the whole group – always helping where he can and leading by example.
