Louis Jacobus van Zyl (born 20 July 1985), better known as L. J. van Zyl, is a South African athlete competing in the
400 metre hurdles
The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Olympic athletics programme since 1900 for men and since 1984 for women.
On a standard outdoor track, 400 metres is the length of the inside lane, once ar ...
. He is the
South African record holder in the event with a personal best of 47.66 seconds, which he achieved twice, three months apart. His time ranks him in the
all-time top 25. He is a three-time
African Champion in the event and competed for his country at the
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
,
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
and
2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...
.
He was the
2002 World Junior Champion over 400 m hurdles and reached the
World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
final at the age of twenty in 2005. His breakthrough into the senior ranks came in 2006 when he won
gold medal
A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture.
Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...
s at the
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...
and African Championships, as well as
silver medal
A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...
s at the
IAAF World Cup
The IAAF Continental Cup was an international track and field competition organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
The event was proposed by IAAF former President Primo Nebiolo and was first held in 1977 as t ...
and
IAAF World Athletics Final
The IAAF World Athletics Final was an annual track and field competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). It was inaugurated in 2003 to replace the IAAF Grand Prix Final. The competition was part of the ...
. He became the
All-Africa Games
The African Games, formally known as the All-Africa Games or the Pan African Games, are a continental multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the African Union (AU) with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (AN ...
champion in 2007. He came fifth in the 2008 Olympic final.
He married South African
long-distance runner
Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength.
Within e ...
Irvette van Blerk in 2012.
Career
Born in
Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State (province), Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legisla ...
, his first international medal came at the
2001 World Youth Championships in Athletics
The 2001 World Youth Championships in Athletics was the second edition of the World Youth Championships in Athletics. It was held in Debrecen, Hungary 12–15 July 2001.
Results Boys
Girls
Medal table
References
External links
results< ...
, where he took the bronze with South Africa in the
Swedish medley relay Swedish relay is an athletics track event in which teams comprise four runners. The first runner runs 100 meters, the second one 200 m, the third one 300 m and the fourth runner 400 m, so the total length of the race is one kilometer.
Usually Swedi ...
. He won the
gold medal
A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture.
Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...
in his speciality at the
2002 World Junior Championships in Athletics
The 2002 World Junior Championships in Athletics were held in Kingston, Jamaica from July 16 to July 21, 2002.
Men's Results
Women's Results
Medal table
Participation
According to an unofficial count through an unofficial result list, ...
, but did not medal in his attempt to defend the title at the 2004 competition. His international breakthrough came at the
World Athletics Final
The IAAF World Athletics Final was an annual track and field competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). It was inaugurated in 2003 to replace the IAAF Grand Prix Final. The competition was part of the ...
in 2005, when he finished third.
The next year he won a
gold medal
A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture.
Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...
at the
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...
with a new personal best time of 48.05 seconds, which was a new
Games record. He also won a
silver medal
A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...
in
4×400 m relay
Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...
with the South African team. Later that year he claimed his first continental title with a win at the
2006 African Championships in Athletics
The 15th African Championships in Athletics were held in Mauritius between August 9 and August 13, 2006. The event was staged at Stade Germain Comarmond in Bambous, Rivière Noire District. This was the second time when the African Championships ...
. He came near his best with a run of 48.08 seconds at the
2006 IAAF World Athletics Final The 4th IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion in Stuttgart, Germany on September 9 and September 10, 2006.
Results
Men
Women
References
External linksOfficial 4th IAAF World Athletics Final Site
{{DEFAULTSO ...
, finishing as runner-up, and secured another
silver medal
A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...
at the
2006 IAAF World Cup
The 10th IAAF World Cup in Athletics was an international track and field sporting event, held under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, which took place on 16 and 17 September 2006 at the Olympic Stadium in Athe ...
.
He was off colour in 2007, being eliminated in the heats at the
2007 World Championships in Athletics
The 11th World Championships in Athletics, () under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan from 24 August to 2 September 2007. 200 of the IAAF's 212 member federat ...
and finishing eighth at the
2007 IAAF World Athletics Final
The 5th IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion in Stuttgart, Germany on September 22 and September 23, 2007.
Results
Men
Women
See also
*2007 in athletics (track and field)
References
;Results2007 IAAF World ...
. However, he did manage to win the hurdles title at the
2007 All-Africa Games
The 9th All-Africa Games took place between 11 and 23 July 2007 in Algiers, the capital city of Algeria. Algiers is the first city to hold All-Africa Games for a second time. The 1978 All-Africa Games were held there. Besides Algeria, only Nige ...
in Algiers that July.
He rebounded the following year and retained his title at the
2008 African Championships and earned a place on the
South African Olympic team
South Africa first participated at the Olympic Games in 1904, and sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games until 1960. After the passage of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1761 in 1962 in response to South Africa's policy ...
. Van Zyl came fifth in the 400 m hurdles final at the
2008 Beijing Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...
, and also ran as part of the national relay team. His clocking of 48.22 seconds at the
Athens Grand Prix Tsiklitiria
The Athens Grand Prix Tsiklitiria is an annual athletics event at the Olympic Stadium in Athens, Greece as part of the IAAF World Challenge Meetings. It was first organized in 1963, held at the Panathinaiko Stadium. Its name honours Kostas Tsikli ...
made him the fourth fastest in the event that year.
He was eliminated in the semi-finals at the
2009 World Championships in Athletics
The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg ...
, despite entering the competition with the fastest time of the year. He ended the year on a positive note with a silver medal behind
Kerron Clement
Kerron Stephon Clement (born October 31, 1985) is a Trinidadian-born American track and field athlete who competes in the 400-meter hurdles and 400-meter sprint. He held the indoor world record in the 400-meter sprint, having broken Michael Jo ...
(the new world champion) at the
2009 IAAF World Athletics Final
The 7th IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Kaftanzoglio Stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece on September 12 and September 13, 2009. The competition represented the culmination of the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Tour, a selection of athletics m ...
.
Van Zyl set the
South African record of 47.66 seconds at an athletics meeting in Pretoria on 25 February 2011, improving upon
Llewellyn Herbert's former mark. He made a large improvement upon his 400 m sprint best a month later, taking almost a second off his former best with a run of 44.86 sec at a
Yellow Pages Series meeting.
Van Zyl won a bronze medal in the 400m hurdles at the
2011 World Championships in Athletics
The 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () was an international athletics competition that was held in Daegu, South Korea. It started on 27 August 2011 and finished on 4 September 2011.
The United States topped the medal standings in th ...
but again he entered the competition with not only the fastest but the 4 fastest times of the year so perhaps a disappointing result. He later won a silver with the South African team in the 4x400m relay.
Affiliations
*TuksSport –
University of Pretoria
The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was ...
, South Africa
Achievements
Personal bests
*400 metres – 44.86 s (2011)
*400 metres hurdles – 47.66 s (2011)
*200 metres hurdles-22.10(1.8 m/s)WR
References
External links
*
Focus on Athletes articlefrom IAAF
{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Zyl, L J
1985 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Bloemfontein
University of Pretoria alumni
South African male hurdlers
Olympic athletes of South Africa
Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Commonwealth Games gold medallists for South Africa
Commonwealth Games silver medallists for South Africa
Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Commonwealth Games
World Athletics Championships medalists
World Athletics Championships athletes for South Africa
African Games gold medalists for South Africa
African Games medalists in athletics (track and field)
Athletes (track and field) at the 2007 All-Africa Games
Afrikaner people
South African people of Dutch descent
South African Athletics Championships winners
Medallists at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games