South African Alan Hatherly’s Olympic dream will be realised when he represents his country in the cross country mountain biking race in Rio in August.
Alan Hatherly is thrilled to have been selected to represent South Africa in the men’s cross country mountain bike event at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Photo: Anthony Grote
The 20-year-old is part of the Elite Athlete Development Programme (EADP) and has dreamt about this opportunity for many years.
“I couldn’t be happier and I’m extremely proud to be given the opportunity to represent my country in Rio.
“It has been a lifelong dream to go to the Olympics but this has all happened way quicker than I thought it ever would,” said Hatherly.
The Kargo Pro rider said he had been focused on trying to qualify for the 2020 Olympics and only realized a year and a half ago that there was a possibility that he could go to Rio.
“Since then, though, everything – from my planning with my team manager Shaun Peschl and my coach John Wakefield, my training, my conditioning – has been geared towards trying to qualify for and then to compete at the 2016 Olympic Games,” he said.
Through his involvement in the KZN Department of Sport and Recreation-backed EADP, Hatherly spent some time in Prime Human Performance Institute’s hypoxic chamber last year before following a carefully designed, personalised strength and conditioning programme in their gym.
A frantic racing schedule for much of the first half of this year also saw him placing great emphasis on recovery.
“The EADP has played a crucial role in preparing me for all the races I needed to take part in in order to push for Olympic qualification and selection,” said Hatherly.
