Main Feature: Paralympics
Contributed by Karien Jonckheere | Photos: Wessel Oosthuizen / Saspa
Poised, confident and ridiculously quick, Ilse Hayes is a very different athlete to the one that competed at her first World Championships back in 2002. She was 17 and the partially sighted sprinter had only been involved in disabled athletics for two years. “The World Championships was on a very different level. I was just a little girl against all these women,” explained the former Stellenbosch University student. “It was definitely an eye-opener and I learned a lot. “I was a bit intimidated by my fellow competitors in the call room. I remember it was the World Champ at that stage from Russia. She was shouting and hitting herself and I didn’t know what was going on. “As the trip went on I got used to it and realised that I should just focus on my own race and do things I’m used to doing. It was a huge honour to represent SA on that level and I was very proud when I could sing our national anthem on the podium. Something I will never forget.” So, despite her initial fears, Ilse emerged as World Champion in the T13 400m that year – just a small sign of things to come.
Fast forward 13 years and, aside from amassing five Paralympic and nine World Championships medals, Ilse is now the fastest Paralympic woman on the planet. That’s after shattering the world record in the 100m in Sao Paolo, Brazil in a lightning fast 11.89 seconds. “My aim was to break that record but I was so surprised by how far I broke it. I felt really blessed and privileged to be in this position and it’s motivating me even more to keep up the good work because records are there to be broken and it’s not going to stand forever,” explained the 29-year-old. “I’m still very grateful for the whole experience. It was perfect conditions on the day and I was ready to run limitless and give it my all. It was a
very competitive race which just added to the special experience, When I crossed the line I didn’t know the time as I can’t see it, but I heard my teammates going crazy so I suspected something great happened. Only after I saw my coach after a few minutes did I hear my time and felt really grateful.” “After dope testing it was confirmed a new world record and only then did it sink in and I got a bit emotional while all the sacrifices flashed through my mind and I just realised that every one of them was worth it.”
Running limitless
While Ilse won her last Paralympic gold in long jump, the former Hoerskool Brandwag student has decided to concentrate purely on the sprints for October’s World Championships in Doha – and ultimately at the next Paralympics in Rio. “I love both sprinting and long jump for so many different reasons. With jumping you have that thrill of hitting that board and flying through the air. With sprinting you have that adrenalin of the gun shot and blasting out of those blocks and driving through that finish line. The dip at the finish line just adds more to the victory. I must say I miss jumping very much but it’s really great to focus only on one discipline. Jumping is very technical and hard on the body so just focussing on the sprinting now is paying off.”
Game On Magazine, August: Issue 19, 2015
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