Namibian javelin record holder Strydom van der Wath never took his athletics career for granted. Van der Wath set the national javelin record with a mark of 78.32 metres on 9 May 2015 during the South African Open Championships in Potchefstroom, South Africa. During the process, he shattered Hennis de Wet’s long-standing national record of 75.32 set before Namibia’s independence. “Never think there is always time when you are a young athlete and postpone your goals you have set. Before you know it, it could be too late. Athletics, like any other sports, is a short career,” Van der Wath says. “If you have set yourself a goal to achieve, do it while you’re still young, strong and injury free. Exploit every opportunity coming your way to the maximum. You don’t know what lies ahead of you so live every moment as if it is your last. School sport is the best time.” Born in Windhoek and raised at Stampriet, the stocky athlete started athletics at the age of seven, starting with track. “I officially started throwing javelin when I turned 13, which is the prescribed starting age for an aspirant javelin thrower. It was inevitable for me to throw the javelin because I was always someone who loved throwing stones growing up on the farm,” he says. “Throwing the javelin didn’t deter me from continuing my love for the sprints. I continued to run the 100m and 200m dashes. I also added the long jump to my repertoire, throughout my high school years until matric at Elnatan Private School. I was a versatile athlete.” His versatility on track and field led to him being named the victor ludorum a few times at Elnatan – an accolade he cherishes until today. Van der Wath, who trained at the Quinton Steele-Botes Athletics Club during his high school years, regrets quitting javelin prematurely. “I had always wanted to push myself more to reach the elusive 80m mark and improve my own record while also putting my sights on the 83m javelin qualifying standard for the 2016 Olympics Games but it was never meant to be,” he says. “I put my failure not to have reached the 80m squarely on my own shoulders. I was not supposed to stop training after I had the second operation on my shoulder after hurting myself in a rugby match. But I just suffered from a lack of motivation.” Van der Wath, renowned for always performing better under pressure, also played cricket for the Namibian under-15 team that toured in South Africa and Botswana for regional championships. As a member of the Namibian Hunting Rifle Shooting Association, Van der Wath is currently shooting for the association’s national team during regional and international competitions. “I had a very colourful athletics career that took me to places I could only dream about,” he says. “In fact, we were crowned as team of the year during an international hunting rifle shooting competition that attracted shooters from Australia, Czech Republic, Germany, Sweden and South African competing at Otjiwa Lodge, outside Otjiwarongo.” Van der Wath, who’s throwing style was characterised by speed, power and a fast arm, remembers the time he travelled with the Namibian athletics team, which he captained, to a regional meet in Mozambique. “Coach Letu Hamhola, who was in charge of the team, entered me, on top of the javelin, also for the 4x400m relay, discus and shot put just for fun. These were all items I have never done or trained before. Only for me to return with a medal haul,” the retired star recalls. “I collected gold in the javelin, silver in the discus and a bronze medal in the shot put. However, our relay performance was not good enough to claim a spot on the podium. It is moments like that that makes me look back fondly and proud of my athletics career.” Van der Wath says it was an honour representing Namibia at the big stages like the Commonwealth Games in India, and that competing for his country at the Confederation of School School Sport Associations of Southern Africa was particularly exciting because he returned home with a silver medal on all three occasions. His consistent performances at international meetings also secured him a scholarship from the Namibian Olympic Committee to study at the North-West University in Potchefstroom. Potchefstroom is where he met his wife, Franzele van der Wath. The couple has one child and is currently expecting their second. Retired from athletics, he says he is currently a full-time farmer in the Stampriet area. “Although things didn’t look so rosy for farmers all over the country because of the drought, we are now looking into the future with much confidence after the beautiful rains,” he says. Van der Wath reveals that the biggest challenges he currently faces is to balance the books after such an extended drought, but he is looking into the future with optimism, adding that he always wanted to be a farmer after his studies. The former star mentions Frank Fredericks as his biggest influence and as the driving force for him to succeed. He also idolised Johannes Vetter of Germany, who won gold at the 2017 World Championships. His personal best of 97.76m is the German record, ranking him second in the world behind Jan Zelenzy from the Czech Republic who holds the world record at 98.48 metres. “I really miss the days when I used to practice athletics – the tough training regimen, the psychological preparation before competitions, the adrenaline rush before competing and all the travelling around the continent,” he says, adding that he met his best friend, Philmar van Rensburg, during the Zone Six Games in 2008.