Gerhardus Pienaar

Last updated

Hardus Pienaar Hardus Pienaar.jpg
Hardus Pienaar

Gerhardus "Hardus" Pienaar (born 10 August 1981 in Rustenburg, North West) is a South African javelin thrower and former Junior World Champion from South Africa. His personal best throw is 84.50 metres, achieved in October 2003 in Hyderabad. [1] He is widely considered to be one of the greatest javelin throwers in South African history.

Contents

Early life

Although Pienaar was born in Rustenburg South Africa, he grew up in Middelburg Mpumalanga where he attended Kanonkop Primary and Kanonkop High School. Pienaar excelled as an athlete from an early age and was notably stronger and faster than his teammates. During Primary School, his strongest athletic events were the 100 meter sprint and shot put. He represented his province at a national level and there are still many of his records to this date at the town's local track and field events.

Pienaar took on the javelin throw at age 15 and only seriously at age 16. He quickly became the number one athlete in his school and eventually the South African province of Mpumalanga. He won every major high school track and field event and in 1998 became the Junior South African Champion at age 16, only one year after he picked up a javelin for the first time. Later that year, Pienaar was selected to represent South Africa at the IAAF World Junior Championship in Annecy, France. He won the silver medal with a distance of 71.16 meters. [1] In October of the same year, he became the Junior World Champion at the ISF junior World Championships held in Shanghai with a winning distance of 79.46. [1] Shortly after his return from Shanghai, Pienaar threw an unofficial distance of 81.94 at a local high school track and field event. The distance was further than the official junior world record, but due to the event staff and measuring equipment not having been officially calibrated, Pienaar's junior world record could not be regarded as official by the IAAF.

Pienaar graduated from Kanonkop High School in Middelburg, South Africa and was invited to attend the prestigious training group at Potchefstroom University under the watchful eye of coach Tersis Liebenburg in 2000. During his tenure at Potchefstroom, he won the gold medal at the IAAF Coca-Cola World Junior Championships held in Santiago, Chile with a distance of 78.11. [1]

He completed his first year and remained a student until 2001 when he decided to pursue athletics full-time.

Career

2001 Pienaar had a best performance of 80.77 in Potchefstroom and also was a World Student Games Finalist. [1]

2002 Pienaar became the South African champion and won the gold medal at the African Championships in Rades, Tunisia with a distance of 78.63. [1] He also came in 5th place at the IAAF World Cup in Athletics held in Madrid, Spain. His season best was 81.40 in Boechout, Belgium. [1]

2003 Pienaar again won the South African Championship and threw a personal best of 84.50 in Hyderabad, India. This qualified Pienaar for the Olympic games in Athens, Greece. [1]

2004 Pienaar held on to his National Champion title and Pienaar again won the gold medal at the African Championships in Brazzaville, in the Republic of the Congo, with a distance of 78.31. [1] Pienaar made the final round of the 28th Olympic games in Athens and ended in 7th place with a distance of 79.95. [1] His personal best for the season was 82.34. [1] which he threw at Warsaw, Poland.

2005 Pienaar lost his South African title to Lohan Rautenbach and had a season best of 77.07. [1]

2006 Pienaar regained the South African title again won the gold medal at the African Championships in Bambous, Mauritius with a distance of 77.55. [1] Pienaar qualified for the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia and finished in 4th place. Pienaar also attended the IAAF World Cup in Athens and won the silver medal with a distance of 83.62. [1]

2007 Pienaar won the silver medal at the South African National Championship with a season best of 82.96. [1] in Oudshoorn, South Africa. He also came in 7th place at the IAAF World Championships in Osaka, Japan with a distance of 79.30. [1]

2008 Pienaar again won the silver medal at the South African National Championship with a distance of 80.49. [1] His personal best for the season was 80.49 which he threw at Goteborg, Sweden and just fell short of the Olympic qualifying distance of 81.80. [1]

2009 Pienaar through a season best of 78.14 in Doha, Qatar. [1]

2010 Pienaar again won the South African Championship and won silver at the IAAF Continental Cup with a season best of 83.19 in Split, Croatia. [1]

2010 Pienaar opened the season with a distance of 77.65 in Bellville South Africa. [1]

International competitions

YearCompetitionVenuePositionNotes
Representing Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa
1998 World Junior Championships Annecy, France 2nd 71.16 m
2000 World Junior Championships Santiago, Chile 1st 78.11 m
2001 Universiade Beijing, China 5th 76.79 m
2002 African Championships Radès, Tunisia 1st 78.63 m
2003 Universiade Daegu, South Korea 5th 74.41 m
All-Africa Games Abuja, Nigeria 2nd 76.95 m
Afro-Asian Games Hyderabad, India 1st 84.50 m
2004 African Championships Brazzaville, Congo 1st 78.31 m
Olympic Games Athens, Greece 14th (q) 79.95 m
2006 Commonwealth Games Melbourne, Australia 4th 78.91 m
African Championships Bambous, Mauritius 1st 77.55 m
2007 All-Africa Games Algiers, Algeria 2nd 76.70 m
World Championships Osaka, Japan 15th (q) 79.30 m
2010 African Championships Nairobi, Kenya 2nd 75.96 m
Continental Cup Split, Croatia 2nd 83.17 m [2]
2011 All-Africa Games Maputo, Mozambique 4th 70.16 m

Seasonal bests by year

Related Research Articles

Stephen James Backley, OBE is an English retired track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He formerly held the world record, and his 91.46-metre (300.1 ft) throw from 1992 is the British record. During his career, he was a firm fixture in the British national athletics team. He won four gold medals at the European Championships, three Commonwealth Games gold medals, two silvers and a bronze at the Olympic Games, and two silvers at the World Championships. Currently, he is an occasional commentator for athletics competitions, especially the field events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andreas Thorkildsen</span> Norwegian javelin thrower

Andreas Thorkildsen is a retired Norwegian track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He was the Olympic Champion in 2004 and 2008, European Champion in 2006 and 2010, and World Champion in 2009. He is the first male javelin thrower in history to simultaneously be European, World and Olympic Champion. He was also a three-time silver medalist at the World Championships, placing second in 2005, 2007 and 2011. His personal best of 91.59 m, set in 2006, is the Norwegian record.

Marius Corbett is a South African javelin thrower. He won a gold medal at the 1997 World Championships in Athletics, improving his personal best by 4.50 m during the contest. The following year he threw 88.75 m to win the 1998 Commonwealth Games, which stands as the Commonwealth Games Record and was also the African record until Julius Yego's throw of 91.39 on 7 June 2015 in Birmingham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petra Felke</span> German javelin thrower

Petra Meier is a retired German track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. Representing East Germany, she became the Olympic Champion in 1988 and broke the world record four times between 1985 and 1988. She is the only woman to throw a javelin 80 metres or more, with her world record of 80.00 m. This throw was the world record from 1988 until 1999, when a new javelin design was implemented. She also won the javelin title at the 1989 IAAF World Cup and silver medals at the World Championships in 1987 and 1991.

Christiaan Harmse is a South African hammer thrower. He has broken the African record seven times, and holds the championship record for both the African Championships and All-Africa Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burger Lambrechts</span> South African shot putter

Burger Lambrechts is a South African shot putter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dilshod Nazarov</span> Tajikistani hammer thrower

Dilshod Jamoliddinovich Nazarov is a Tajik track and field athlete who specializes in the hammer throw. He has represented his country at the Olympic Games on four occasions, winning the gold medal in Rio de Janeiro, the first gold medal for Tajikistan in the history of the Olympic Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uwe Hohn</span> German track and field athlete (born 1962)

Uwe Hohn is a retired German track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He is the only athlete to throw a javelin 100 metres or more, with his world record of 104.80 m. A new javelin design was implemented in 1986 and the records had to be restarted, thus Hohn's mark became an "eternal world record". After his retirement from competition, Hohn became a coach and since 1999 he has worked for SC Potsdam, the successor of ASK Vorwärts Potsdam, where he started his career as a sportsman. He coached Indian track and field athlete Neeraj Chopra, who won the gold in the men's javelin throw at the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yukifumi Murakami</span> Japanese javelin thrower

Yukifumi Murakami is a Japanese javelin thrower. He was the first Japanese athlete to win a World Championship medal in the javelin, taking bronze at the 2009 edition with a throw of 82.97 metres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunette Viljoen</span> South African sportswoman

Sunette Stella Viljoen-Louw is a South African sportswoman who has represented her country in both cricket and athletics. In athletics, she competes as a javelin thrower and has won an Olympic silver medal and two Commonwealth Games gold medals, as well as medals in various other competitions. As a cricketer, she represented the South African national team between 2000 and 2002, including at the 2000 World Cup in New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Braian Toledo</span> Argentine javelin thrower (1993–2020)

Braian Ezequiel Toledo was an Argentine javelin thrower who improved the World Youth Best in boys' javelin throw by more than six metres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edgar Baumann</span> Paraguayan field athlete (born 1970)

Edgar Andres Baumann Dure is a Paraguayan former Javelin Thrower, current Javelin Coach, Sports Promoter and Businessperson. He is of German descent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julius Yego</span> Kenyan javelin thrower (born 1989)

Julius Yego is a Kenyan track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. Nicknamed "Mr. YouTube" because he learned how to throw by watching YouTube videos of javelin athletes, Yego is the African record holder for the event with a personal best of 92.72 m.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keshorn Walcott</span> Trinidadian javelin thrower

Keshorn "Keshie" Walcott, ORTT is a Trinbagonian track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. He is an Olympic champion, having won gold in 2012. He is the first Caribbean male athlete, as well as the first of African descent, to win the gold medal in a throwing event in the history of the Olympics. He is also the holder of the North, Central American and Caribbean junior record.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jakub Vadlejch</span> Czech javelin thrower

Jakub Vadlejch is a Czech track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. He is a four-time Olympian for the Czech Republic, having competed in 2012, 2016,2020 and 2024 winning a silver medal in 2020. He also has represented his country six times at the World Championships in Athletics, winning the bronze medal in 2022 and 2023 and silver medal in 2017, and six times a competitor at the European Athletics Championships, winning the silver medal in 2022 and the gold medal in 2024. He also won the 2016 Diamond League title, 2017 Diamond League title, and the 2023 Diamond League Title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dmitry Tarabin</span> Russian javelin thrower

Dmitriy Sergeyev Tarabin is a Russian track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. His personal best for the event is 88.84 m. He was the winner of the javelin at Summer Universiade and the Russian Championships in 2013. Tarabin previously competed for Moldova and remains the country's national record holder.

Zhao Qinggang is a Chinese track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. His 89.15 m personal best throw, set in 2014, is the Chinese record. It was also the Asian record until surpassed in 2017. He represented his country at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics. He is the 2014 Asian Games champion. At the East Asian Games he was the runner-up in 2009 and winner in 2013. He is a two-time Chinese champion and was the winner of the 2013 National Games of China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Röhler</span> German javelin thrower

Thomas Röhler is a German track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. He is the 2016 Olympic Champion and 2018 European Champion. His personal best of 93.90 m for the event ranks him third on the overall list.

Huang Shih-Feng is a Taiwanese track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. He is the Taiwanese record holder for the event with a personal best of 83.82 m.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allan Cumming</span> South African hammer thrower (born 1996)

Allan Cumming is a South African hammer thrower. He won the gold medal at the 2022 African Championships.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 "IAAF: Gerhardus Pienaar | Profile". iaaf.org. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  2. Representing Africa