L. J. van Zyl
 Van Zyl during the2011 World Athletics Championships | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 20 July 1985 Bloemfontein,South Africa |
| Height | 1.82 m (5 ft11+1⁄2in) |
| Weight | 79 kg (174 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Country |  South Africa |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Event(s) | 400 metre hurdles 4 × 400m Relay |
Medal record | |
Louis Jacobus van Zyl(born 20 July 1985), better known asL. J. van Zyl,is a South African athlete competing in the400 metre hurdles.He is theSouth African recordholder in the event with a personal best of 47.66 seconds, which he achieved twice, three months apart. His time ranks him in theall-time top 25.He is a three-timeAfrican Championin the event and competed for his country at the2008,2012and2016 Summer Olympics.
He was the2002 World Junior Championover 400 m hurdles and reached theWorld Championshipsfinal at the age of twenty in 2005. His breakthrough into the senior ranks came in 2006 when he wongold medalsat theCommonwealth Gamesand African Championships, as well assilver medalsat theIAAF World CupandIAAF World Athletics Final.He became theAll-Africa Gameschampion in 2007. He came fifth in the 2008 Olympic final.
He married South Africanlong-distance runnerIrvette van Blerkin 2012.[1]
Career
[edit]Born inBloemfontein,his first international medal came at the2001 World Youth Championships in Athletics,where he took the bronze with South Africa in theSwedish medley relay.[2]He won thegold medalin his speciality at the2002 World Junior Championships in Athletics,but did not medal in his attempt to defend the title at the 2004 competition. His international breakthrough came at theWorld Athletics Finalin 2005, when he finished third.
The next year he won agold medalat theCommonwealth Gameswith a new personal best time of 48.05 seconds, which was a newGames record.He also won asilver medalin4×400 m relaywith the South African team. Later that year he claimed his first continental title with a win at the2006 African Championships in Athletics.He came near his best with a run of 48.08 seconds at the2006 IAAF World Athletics Final,finishing as runner-up, and secured anothersilver medalat the2006 IAAF World Cup.
He was off colour in 2007, being eliminated in the heats at the2007 World Championships in Athleticsand finishing eighth at the2007 IAAF World Athletics Final.However, he did manage to win the hurdles title at the2007 All-Africa Gamesin Algiers that July.[3]He rebounded the following year and retained his title at the2008 African Championshipsand earned a place on theSouth African Olympic team.Van Zyl came fifth in the 400 m hurdles final at the2008 Beijing Olympics,and also ran as part of the national relay team. His clocking of 48.22 seconds at theAthens Grand Prix Tsiklitiriamade him the fourth fastest in the event that year.[4]
He was eliminated in the semi-finals at the2009 World Championships in Athletics,despite entering the competition with the fastest time of the year.[5]He ended the year on a positive note with a silver medal behindKerron Clement(the new world champion) at the2009 IAAF World Athletics Final.
Van Zyl set theSouth African recordof 47.66 seconds at an athletics meeting in Pretoria on 25 February 2011, improving uponLlewellyn Herbert's former mark.[6]He made a large improvement upon his 400 m sprint best a month later, taking almost a second off his former best with a run of 44.86 sec at aYellow Pages Seriesmeeting.[7]
Van Zyl won a bronze medal in the 400m hurdles at the2011 World Championships in Athleticsbut again he entered the competition with not only the fastest but the 4 fastest times of the year so perhaps a disappointing result.[8]He later won a silver with the South African team in the 4x400m relay.
Affiliations
[edit]- TuksSport –University of Pretoria,South Africa[9]
Achievements
[edit]
Personal bests
[edit]- 400 metres – 44.86 s (2011)
- 400 metres hurdles – 47.66 s (2011)
- 200 metres hurdles-22.10(1.8 m/s)WR
References
[edit]- ^Finch, Mike (26 July 2012).The Story Of LJ And IrvetteArchived30 July 2012 at theWayback Machine.Runner's World.Retrieved on 2013-04-22.
- ^"World Youth Championships 2001".Wjah.co.uk.Retrieved27 February2011.
- ^":: COJA 2007:: Site Officiel des 9 èmes jeux africains - Alger du 11 AU 23 juillet 2007".Archived fromthe originalon 28 September 2007.Retrieved18 February2016.
- ^"2008 Toplists 400h m - o".iaaf.org.Retrieved30 October2012.
- ^"12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics - Berlin 2009 - Event Report - Men's 400m Hurdles - Semi-Final".Berlin.iaaf.org. 16 August 2009. Archived fromthe originalon 25 March 2012.Retrieved30 October2012.
- ^"Van Zyl clocks 47.66 South African 400m Hurdles record in Tshwane".iaaf.org. 26 February 2011.Retrieved30 October2012.
- ^"Van Zyl impresses in 400m flat!".iaaf.org. 28 March 2011.Retrieved30 October2012.
- ^"2011 Toplists 400h m - o".iaaf.org.Retrieved30 October2012.
- ^"Focus on Athletes - L.J. van Zyl".iaaf.org.Retrieved30 October2012.
- ^Disqualified in the final.
External links
[edit]
Commonwealth Gameschampions in men's400 metres hurdles | |
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| 440 yards hurdles (1930–1966) |
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| 400 metres hurdles (1970–present) |
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- 1985 births
- Living people
- Sportspeople from Bloemfontein
- University of Pretoria alumni
- South African male hurdlers
- Olympic athletes for South Africa
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics
- Commonwealth Games gold medallists for South Africa
- Commonwealth Games silver medallists for South Africa
- Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Commonwealth Games
- World Athletics Championships medalists
- World Athletics Championships athletes for South Africa
- African Games gold medalists for South Africa
- African Games medalists in athletics (track and field)
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2007 All-Africa Games
- Afrikaner people
- South African people of Dutch descent
- South African Athletics Championships winners
- Medallists at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
- Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games