Motivation

Q&A with adidas athlete Wayde Van Niekerk

We caught up with Olympic gold medallist Wayde Van Niekerk to talk about his training in the build-up to the Tokyo Olympics 2021 and the new adidas 4DFWD running shoes.

Hi Wayde, thanks for taking the time to speak to us!

It’s obviously been a very difficult year for all athletes with postponed and rearranged competitions. How have you managed to keep focussed during your training?

I think the reality is that it is a time where every athlete has struggled and this has been the core motive, knowing that it’s not just myself going through this pandemic and this difficult time. This has definitely made it a bit easier for me to accept the reality, but at the same time hard work is hard work. We all need to put in the effort to get in the best shape we can for the Olympic Games. Being a sportsperson, I’m no stranger to hard work, it’s not that difficult for me to get myself into a routine and find that day to day consistency.

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Many of our SportsShoes customers are really dedicated to their own training. Could you please give us an example of what a typical day looks like for you as an elite athlete?

Yes, so previously with my old coach it would be a gym session in the morning, then a rest and later in the afternoon it would be some track work, which is slightly different to what I’m doing now with my new coach. Instead, we start off with a track session and then end with a gym session. The weekly programme is also a bit different. We now have two active rest days, whereas previously this was just one. There are quite a few differences, but ones that are very positive and change is exciting.

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credit: www.adidas.co.uk

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What is the favourite part of your daily training?

The favourite part of my training day is the track work as I really enjoy it, especially pushing my body to its limits. Even the track work right now is totally different to what I used to do, because of the intensity and the level at which I’m pushing my body. Despite being different, I’ve been doing this for around 3 months now and my body has been responding quite well to it. I’ve seen the improvement in myself mentally and physically, so I’m looking forward to seeing what 2021 holds.

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You’ve obviously been using and testing the adidas 4DFWD. Can you tell us a little more about when you’ve been using them in your training and how have you found them so far?

As an athlete the first thing you look at is the appearance of the shoe. This is a key aspect for us as athletes, because it inspires confidence and makes us more comfortable on the track. Also, when putting on the shoe I love the fact that it’s been designed to accommodate more than just one type of foot, from an elite professional athlete to an everyday lifestyle runner. This alone makes it a really unique shoe and I’m really impressed with just how comfortable it is when running in it. The new innovative design really does give you a boost forward and it’s exciting to be part of the adidas family right now, because as a brand we’ve gone from helping to save the oceans (working with Parley), right through to developing technologies that we’ve never seen before. It makes you feel unique and confident and above all else, encourages you to really play your part on the track and make the whole of the adidas team really proud.

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They sound amazing! And we’re also really excited about the innovation that adidas are bringing from the Run For The Oceans campaign with adidas Primegreen and Primeblue, right through to the new 4DFWD technology. If you had to highlight your favourite thing about the new adidas 4DFWD what would it be?

As I mentioned earlier, the look of the shoe for me is really important and how cool it is to wear. Also, the comfort is very important, making sure that my foot feels nice and snug. When I get out onto the track, I shouldn’t feel like I have anything to consider when putting on the shoe and that’s the special thing about it – it’s designed to fit around my foot with no complications and no questions asked. It’s simply designed for me to just wear it and run, so you can’t really ask for anything better than that.

SHOP ADIDAS 4DFWD HERE

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credit: www.adidas.co.uk

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Obviously, we have a very exciting summer to look forward to, what are you looking forward to the most?

Looking at how my season started I can’t wait to get some quality races in against some world class athletes, which I haven’t had the experience of doing in a very long time. So, being able to get back on the track now and seeing that I can put some quality times down obviously gives me a massive confidence boost for the rest of the year. Despite the delay to the start, it’s still going to be a long season and one that I am entirely responsible for. But I’m at the point now where I’m really hungry and I’m looking forward to getting back to racing and improving even further. I’m hoping to use my early season training as a stepping stone and it’s exciting to see what’s in store.

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Lastly, what are your goals for the season?

My main goal for the season is really just to get that consistency back again. As a gold medallist, that’s honestly just where my mind is at – to get gold again. Also, just making sure that from my side, I make sure I do everything that’s required of me and put my best foot forward when it’s time to compete against the very best athletes in the world. It’s about getting back some momentum, plus a winning mentality which will enable me to dominate the track once more.

On behalf of everyone at SportsShoes, we’d like to wish you the very best of luck and we can’t wait to see you back on the track and competing at the highest level.

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