JOHANNESBURG - Now a marked man, Henri Schoeman will have to live up to his new-found title as one of the top triathletes in the world as he looks to build on his successes of 2016.
Proving his bronze medal performance at the Rio Olympics was no flash in the pan, Schoeman won the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final in Mexico to round off a breakthrough year.
He also earned three top-10 finishes at international triathlons before the Games. The South African will start his season at the Discovery Triathlon World Cup in Cape Town over the weekend when he will get to feel the added pressure of local expectation.
“I am very excited. I think it is going to be a bit different because I’ve always been that underdog guy, but now I am that name that everybody talks about and they expect me to do well,” he said.
“There is a bit of pressure but I’ve been training pretty hard this off-season and I am excited to start racing to see what I can do and how much better I can get.
“My priority has always been making the run the best I can be; I still have a lot of potential and room for improvement.”
Schoeman will face, among others, France’s Vincent Louis, who was third in Cape Town in 2015, and local hard man Richard Murray.
Before Schoeman stole the show for South Africa at the Games, Murray was tipped for a podium finish in Rio but had to settle for fourth place behind his countryman.
Schoeman believes the shorter sprint triathlon - 750m swim, 40km cycle and 10km run - will better suit the strong runners, which would be an ideal opportunity to gauge how much he has improved in that department.
“We’ve been working on some of the smaller basics and getting strong, and even before the start of the season I’ve been hitting some PBs (personal bests) in training," he said.
“So there are very exciting things to look forward to towards the end of the year with my running and I think it is going to be even better than last year.”
Schoeman hopes that improving his run will give him the edge to compete for regular podium positions on the world circuit.
He finished last year ranked fourth in the world with Murray finishing just behind him in fifth.
“With my recent successes at the Olympic Games and the Grand Final in Cozumel, I’ve obviously set my sights a lot higher now and I believe I am capable of much more,” Schoeman said.
“I am not thinking of top 10 any more; I’m thinking of medals and podiums. Definitely at the end of the year I want to be ranked in the top three.
“You have some inconsistent races where you might finish top five but I am going for medals. It might still be a bit early to go for world champion but you can't limit yourself.”