University of Pretoria
TuksSport
Blignaut is one of SA’s rising sports stars By Wilhelm De Swardt | Photographer: Reg Caldecott
The 21-year-old Kyle Blignaut proved at the Tokyo Olympic Games that he is one to watch for the big moment with his 6th place finish in the shot-put final.
‘I am a very competitive person. It has to do with the way I grew up. As a family, we always had some sort of competition going. It has stood me in good stead.’
It was a truly remarkable performance. Blignaut was one of only two South Africa track and field athletes who qualified to compete in the finals in Tokyo. Akani Simbine finished fourth in the 100-metres race. The big man, Blignaut, who is 1.95 metres tall and weighs 148 kg, also made history by being only the second South African shot putter to compete in an Olympic final. Janus Robberts did so in 2000 in Sydney. He finished 7th. Blignaut let rip with a 21-metre effort in the Tokyo final, ensuring that he can lay claim to being one of the top six best in the world. Blignaut said a year ago he would have been happy if someone told him that he was going to finish sixth at the Olympic Games, but things had changed. ‘My coach and I are very ambitious. Every time I achieve a goal, it is time for a new challenge. Initially, the plan was only to qualify for the Olympic final. But once I had done so, the aim immediately became to see how close I can get to win a medal.’ ‘I am a very competitive person. It has to do with the way I grew up. As a family, we always had some sort of competition going. It has stood me in good stead. When I throw, it is always a 90% plus effort. I think it is essential to do so. You got to condition your body to be ready for when you need to step up.’ According to Blignaut, his coach, Pierre Blignaut, is the one who deserves all the credit for what he has achieved. ‘Although Pierre and I are not related, it feels like he is family. He is the one who
made me believe nothing is impossible and taught me that shotput is 65% good technique and 35% brute strength. Jaco Engelbrecht, a former shotputter, also inspired me a lot,’ the Tuks-based athlete said. He played rugby for a while at school, but he realised that the tape measure is fairer when judging performances. That is why he chose to stick with athletics. In 2018 he won gold at the World Junior Championships in Finland. This season he won gold at the South African Senior Championships and the South African Universities Championships. He also improved his best distance to
21.21 metres. Only Robberts (21,97 metres) and Orazio Cremona (21,1 metres) ever threw further. Blignaut is currently registered for the Higher Certificate in Sports Sciences.
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