Cape Town — Kyle Blignaut made the athletics world sit up and take notice with his outstanding performance at the Tokyo Olympics last year.
Just 21 at the time, the shot put giant first made it through to the final with a 20.97m effort, which was an incredible achievement as only a throw of 21.20m guaranteed progression, or at least the top 12 athletes advance from the qualifying round.
Then Blignaut produced an improved throw of 21.00m to end in sixth position, ahead of illustrious campaigners such as Egypt’s Mostafa Amr Hassan and Nigerian Commonwealth Games silver medallist Chukwuebuka Enekwechi.
American world record-holder Ryan Crouser claimed gold with a new Olympic mark of 23.30m, followed by compatriot Joe Kovacs (22.65m) and New Zealand’s Tom Walsh (22.47m).
So, it was somewhat surprising when Blignaut said during Athletics South Africa’s announcement last week – where a four-year broadcast deal with SuperSport was revealed – that he intended focusing on starring at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in late July instead of the world championships, which starts on July 15 in Eugene, Oregon.
“I really want to try and get a medal at a major championship this year. So, I’m aiming for the Commonwealth Games, to get a medal there, and also the African title later this season – I’d like to be the African champion,” the 22-year-old said.
“I want to go to the world champs, but because that and the Commonwealth Games are so close to each other, my primary focus for this year will probably be the Commonwealth Games. Then I will focus on world champs and the Olympic Games in future.
“I feel like these (ASA) Grand Prix meets will be a good building block for the rest of the season. I plan on opening my season in two weeks’ time in Bloemfontein, so that will be on TV hopefully – and we can hopefully open the season with a big throw!”
But his 72-year-old coach, Pierre Blignaut (no relation), told Independent Media that his young protégé will still be taking part in the world championships.
It is all about building up Kyle Blignaut’s profile on the world stage in these early stages of his career.
There is still quite a sizable gap between his personal best of 21.21m and Crouser’s world record of 23.37m, with Kovacs (22.65m) and Walsh (22.47m) both breaching the 22-metre mark in Tokyo as well.
That is why Pierre Blignaut believes that his star athlete must be patient in his journey to the top of the shot put world.
“It’s not that he is not going to take part in the world champs. But logically, he came sixth at the Olympic Games, and he is only 22 years old. His achievement wasn’t so much that sixth place, but rather, at that young age, he managed to be among the top eight. So, that was quite an achievement,” the coach told Independent Media.
“The time when shot put athletes are really at their best is around 25, 26, 27 years old, and he is very, very young.
“What we are doing is that his goals are all personal goals… we are not looking at anyone else. His goal this year is to throw 21.50m-plus – and 21.50m won’t even get you to a world championship medal. There are lots of guys who are throwing over 22 metres.
“Again, it’s about the experience, but he has an outside chance in Paris (2024 Olympics), and then definitely the one after that (2028 Los Angeles Olympics) as a lot of the big guys will retire after 2024. Someone like Ryan Crouser, the world record-holder, would want to bow out as a winner, and be remembered as the undisputed champion.
“So, the main thing for Kyle now is working on his big-match temperament. He did very well at the Olympic Games, and nothing is impossible, but we are being realistic as well.”
Pierre Blignaut has no doubt, though, that Kyle would go beyond the magical 22m mark one day.
He certainly has the pedigree, as he was ranked fourth in history in the junior division (6kg) with a heave of 22.07m in 2018, which secured the world junior title in Finland.
“The 22-metre throw (with a 7.26kg shot) is most definitely on the way. If you look at his world juniors performance, that throw was an American junior record (22.07m) – all these world champions who have come before him couldn’t reach that mark… He did better than what they did,” the coach said.
“He must just stay injury-free and not push too hard. He must make a living out of this – he is now a professional athlete. He will get those Diamond League invites (after the Olympic final).
“That is why it’s important that he gets a medal at the Commonwealth Games, and he gets a good placing at the worlds, then he will get those invites to the Diamond League, where there is good money.”
IOL Sport