Matie athlete William Kaptein charged to victory in the Cape Town Peace Run over 10 km on Sunday (20 September), completing the course in a personal best time of 28:34 and breaking the course record in the process.
The 23-year-old athlete is very satisfied with the result, especially as he now qualifies for IAAF Silver Label status. The qualifying time is 28:40. Athletes with this status receive invites to various events around the world.
"It opens doors to the international stage," Kaptein said on Monday.
Kaptein moved from Robertson to Stellenbosch at the beginning of 2014 to join the Endurocad academy, founded by long-distance runner Elana Meyer. He also joined the Maties Athletics Club.
In 2015, he was selected for the Boland Track, Road and Cross Country teams and he recorded a top 10 finish in the men's senior 10 km race at the ASA Cross Country Championships earlier in September.
He is working towards qualification for the 10 000m track event at the 2016 Olympic Games, but track running is not his forte.
"I grew up on a farm and prefer to run in road or cross country events," he said. "I still have to adapt to the track."
He feels he has developed tremendously as an athlete since he came to Stellenbosch and he has big dreams for next year. He has also enrolled for a qualification at ETA, a sports college offering internationally recognised fitness, coaching science and sport management courses.
His short-term plans include participating in the PetroSA 10km event on 26 September and successfully defending his title in the Gun Run halfmarathon on 11 October.
He improved the course record last year when he won the event over 21,1 km in 01:03:21.
Photograph: Elana Meyer FB
