by Mphathi Nxumalo
Durban - It was all smiles and a few joyful tears as bronze-medal winning triathlete, Henri Schoeman, landed at King Shaka International airport on Monday.
Schoeman, 24, was welcomed by friends, family and his bunny “Hasie”. When he saw the amount of people waiting for him he broke into tears.
“I am so excited. I have been working so many years for this… It is still a dream” he said.
Schoeman said he thought he would do well at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 in Japan and not at the Rio Olympics in Brazil. First and second places went to brothers Alistair and Jonathan respectively.
It was not an easy ride to bronze for Schoeman, before the race he fell ill and was running a high temperature. The thought of not being able to compete the following day brought him to tears he said.
He was, however, given the go-ahead to race and was jubilant. Having gone through the ordeal, Schoeman said before the race he “had some sort of peace. The race just happened by itself.” He said he had to push himself hard in the last part of the race.
What made the race that sweeter for him was that he came into it being seen as the underdog. Achieving bronze has also had implications for him as he now had a target on his back, but he was willing to rise to the occasion.
Schoeman said the next big race for him is the World championships in Mexico next month. One of the people who will be guiding him during the championships is father and coach, Joe Schoeman.
Joe said he could not really describe the feeling of joy he had. He said it was not only as a parent that he was happy but as a coach too.
“It is a great feeling and he has worked hard.”
Joe and his wife, Michelle, said they hoped their son would get a top 10 finish in the race. The third place finish was a bonus for them.
There would be little time for rest though, said Joe, as his son was going to do some training later on in the day and would compete in America at the end of the month and in the World Championships in Mexico.
Although he now had a target on his back as an Olympic medallist, Joe said his son who was currently ranked seventh in the world,could step up to the platform as he had been competing with some of the best for a long time. But before the training, he would celebrate the achievement with friends and family.
One of those people who will be celebrating with him is his girlfriend, Franzel Allen, who brought Schoeman’s pet bunny “Hasie” along. Allen said she was very proud of her boyfriend’s achievement and had been “screaming” while watching the race on television.
“On the last lap of the race I saw this is happening,” she said.
Allen who has been with Schoeman for the past five years said the Olympian was introverted but also had a very strong mind. She said when they started dating in 2011, he was ranked 207th and within two years of dating he had moved up to 12th, she said.