Adriaan Wildschutt: “I am doing things that I never thought were possible”
Running was always a means to an end for Adriaan Wildschutt, the rising star of South African distance track athletics.
Growing up in the picturesque Ceres Valley in the Western Cape Province of South Africa, Wildschutt and his older brother Nadeel competed in road races for money so as not to be a ‘burden’ to their parents.
Flying his country’s flag on some of the sport’s biggest stages or setting South African records never featured in his wildest dreams when he joined his brother on a run for the first time.
Wildschutt first started running to escape boredom, then it became a way to earn extra cash and a means towards earning a degree.
“My parents didn't go to college, and we were raised in the manner that we go out and try and just become stable financially eventually,” Wildschutt told Olympics.com.
“There was no other option but to go to university and we didn't have a lot of money to pay for that. Once I got good provincially, I was in a position where I could get scholarships that would pay for my academics. But academics was always first and it's always been first.”
Adriaan Wildschutt: Mentorship from a legend
Running would ultimately lead Wildschutt to the United States after South African running legend Zola Budd-Pieterse recruited both Adriaan and his brother for Coastal Carolina University in 2018. The next year he won the bronze medal in the 10,000m at the World University Games in Napoli, Italy.
Wildschutt ended his collegiate career at Florida State University in Tallahassee in 2022 before turning professional. In the same year, he reached his first World Championships in Oregon, Eugene where he finished 18th in his 5,000m heat.
It was only until his permanent move to Flagstaff in Arizona that Wildschutt’s star ascended in earnest in 2023 setting national marks in the 3,000m, 5,000m and the 10,000m.
He opened his breakthrough year by breaking two-time World Half Marathon Championship silver medallist Hendrick Ramaala’s long-standing South African record in the 10,000m. Wildschutt won the 10,000 meters at the On Track Fest in a time of 27:23.10 to break Ramaala’s mark that had stood since 1999 – chopping 15.44 seconds off his previous best.
He added the 5,000m record to his growing list of accolades at the KBC Night of Athletics in Belgium with a time of 13:02.46. Five days later he had the full set of track long-distance records behind his name setting the 3,000m mark by clocking 7:39.25 in Lucerne, Switzerland.
The 25-year-old Wildschutt ended his 2023 season on a high finishing in a creditable 14th place in the 10,000m at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest.
Adriaan Wildschutt: Rising in international ranks
Wildschutt continued where he left off by opening his season setting the national short track record in the 5,000m at the Boston University John Thomas Terrier Classic clocking 12:56.76. His time catapulted him into ninth place on the world’s all-time list.
The diminutive Wildschutt further raised his status as a prospect for Paris 2024 improving his 10,000m mark with a time of 26:55.54 at The Ten in March.
“It takes time to develop certain abilities with running. I thought in the beginning because I was so focussed academically, if I ran sub-28 minutes for 10,000m I would be happy,” Wildschutt said.
“I would be happy to stop but once you reach that point, you just get hungry and hungrier. Sometimes you have to control yourself because you get greedy and all that and that's why I still appreciate these moments because I didn't know I was going to be able to run these times and achieve these things.”
Adriaan Wildschutt: Keeping his feet on the ground
Wildschutt’s father Anthony passed away in December 2021, before he could see his son establish himself as a South African record-breaker and an Olympic prospect.
While Wildschutt believed his parents would be proud of his achievements in one of the most competitive events on the track, he was brought up to always keep his feet on the ground and reach for the next ‘big thing’.
“We try and keep ourselves to the ground because if you're going to be too proud, it means there's nothing more to give,” he said.
“I have my MBA, but I could probably go for a PhD. The same with all my running as well. Like when I ran 12:56 for the 5,000m, it was great but then 24 hours later I was thinking I need something better to look forward to otherwise I'm going to get stuck at that point and I'm not going to improve. Same thing with a 10,000m. I enjoyed it a lot, for that moment, but then after this, I was like "What can I do better? What is the next big thing? And so that's kind of my mindset.”
Adriaan Wildschutt: "I might as well just go for it"
It is the type of mindset he would need to perform at his maiden Olympic Games where he has set his sights on silverware. Should he succeed in his mission he would be the first South African athlete since Elana Meyer’s silver medal in the women’s 10,000m in Barcelona 1992 to win a medal in a long-distance track event at the Olympics.
“The only way from here and the only way that I would satisfy myself or South Africa is to try and go for a medal,” Wildschutt said.
“That doesn't mean they wouldn't be proud if I'm like sixth or seventh. But I just feel like it's appropriate to try and chase for that. All these things that I'm doing right now I've never thought possible. And I think it's time to believe that maybe I am up there to try and compete for these medals. At this moment, I still don’t know if it's possible, but I've done so many things that I never thought were possible, so I might as well just go for it.”
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