Words no athlete ever wants to hear is – “Your career is over. You will never compete again” – especially when you are in the prime of your career.
Unfortunately, it does happen. In March, a week before the Gauteng North Athletics Championships, Jovan van Vuuren had to hear this “death sentence” pronounced by his doctor.
“I was utterly stunned by the fact that I might never compete again. I was not ready to quit on my dreams of winning a medal in the long jump at a World Champs or the Olympic Games. After all, I was only 26. The reigning South African Champion and a Commonwealth Games long jump bronze medallist. To me, 2022 was my breakthrough in international athletics.
“Now I had to hear that my right hamstring tendon was on the verge of snapping and the risk of an operation too great. I was devasted. It was as if my world had fallen apart.”
The Tuks masters student’s story, fortunately, did have a happy ending. Last week a day after his 27th birthday, he got the all-clear from his doctor to start dreaming again. He still remembers the first time he went for a jog.
“It was only 20 minutes, but I smiled for every one of those minutes. Sometimes you must nearly lose something you are passionate about to appreciate it. I will never take anything for granted ever.
“I have much to be grateful for and so many people I am indebted to. My doctor in Bethlehem, Neil du Plessis (strength and conditioning coach), Greyling Viljoen (clinical psychologist), Steven Ball (TuksSport CEO), and everyone at Power2Health and PVM. Sometimes thank you seems so insignificant when you genuinely mean it.
“Special thanks to Neil du Plessis. If nine out of ten guys in a room tell you something can’t be done, Neil will be the one that will say it is possible. His only prerequisite to helping me was that he expected me to 100% believe I would compete again. If I did not, he could not help.”
The TuksSports Man of the Year is unsure when he will be back on the track.
“What I know is that it will be foolish to rush anything. For the moment, I am only training only in the gym. The hard reality is that my program will have to be genuinely structured when I start training on the track. There will be no time for fooling around. Tests have shown that the chances of my tendon ever snapping are zero, but am I at risk of injuring my hamstring if I go about haphazardly about things. It will be a case of doing it right or not at all.
“Wayde van Niekerk and Ruswahl Samaai, who supported me throughout my ordeal, told me that the ball is now literally in my court.”
Since 2018 Van Vuuren has improved his best performance by 61 centimetres-7.55 metres to 8.16 metres in 2022.