Willem Coertzen

Willem Coertzen (born 30 December 1982, in Nigel) is a South African track and field athlete who competes in the decathlon. He was the silver medallist in the event at the African Championships in Athletics in 2008. He is the current South African national record holder in the event with his score of 8343.

Willem Coertzen
Personal information
Born (1982-12-30) 30 December 1982
Height1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight79 kg (174 lb)
Sport
Country South Africa
SportAthletics
Event(s)Decathlon
Medal record
African Championships
Silver medal – second place2008 Addis AbabaDecathlon
Bronze medal – third place2008 Addis AbabaPole vault

Athletics career

He began taking part in decathlon competitions in 2007 for Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers in the United Kingdom, where he won the South of England Combined Events Championship in Bedford with a total of 7245 points. The following year he returned to his native South Africa to win his first national decathlon title, then recorded a personal best of 7721 points in Réduit.[1] A month later at the 2008 African Championships in Athletics in Addis Ababa, he took the silver medal in the decathlon behind Algeria's Larbi Bouraada and also managed a bronze medal in the pole vault event with a modest clearance of 4.00 m.[2] He underwent a groin operation in November that year, leading him to miss the following year's national championships.[3]

Willem Coertzen (right) and Romain Barras in finish of 1500m run at the 2011 TNT – Fortuna Meeting in Kladno

The following May he completed two decathlons: he set a new South African record in the event with a score of 7907 points for third place at the Multistars meeting in Desenzano del Garda.[4] Although he was eleventh at the 2009 Hypo-Meeting in Götzis later that month, he improved his record further with a total of 8054 points, clearing the 8000-point mark for the first time in his career.[5] He was selected to represent his country at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics and he significantly improved upon his past marks. Reflecting upon his performance of 8146 points in the men's decathlon in Berlin, he said: "Six personal bests out of 10 events, 14th in the world, and a new national record - who could be unhappy with that?".[6] One of these personal bests was in the pole vault, which he achieved after an incident where his pole snapped in three places during a jump.[7]

He competed sparingly in 2010, but returned to international competition the following year.[1] He edged out Olympic medallist Dmitriy Karpov at the TNT - Fortuna Meeting in June 2011, taking third place with a score of 8094 points (which included personal bests in the discus throw, shot put and 1500 metres).[8] He improved his national record to 8244 points at the 2012 South African Championships, setting bests in the pole vault, 1500 m, and javelin throw.[9]

He came a close second to Damian Warner at the 2013 Decastar meeting, finishing with 8118 points (including a 2.08 m personal best in the high jump).[10]

At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, he competed in the decathlon, where he competed in the first four events before pulling out before the start of the 400 metres.

Statistics

Personal bests[11]
Event Result Venue Competition Date
60 metres 7.17 Lee Valley South of England Open Pentathlon 6 January 2008
100 metres 10.88 Hampden Park Commonwealth Games 28 July 2014
400 metres 48.56 Olympic Park Olympic Games 8 August 2012
1000 metres 2:53.04 Sheffield English Combined Events Championships 13 January 2008
1500 metres 4:23.75 Port Elizabeth South African Championships 14 April 2012
60 metres hurdles 8.34 Lee Valley South of England Open Pentathlon 6 January 2008
110 metres hurdles 14.15 Olympic Park Olympic Games 9 August 2012
High jump 2.05 Réduit Réduit Decathlon 5 April 2008
Pole vault 4.63 Port Elizabeth South African Championships 14 April 2012
Long jump 7.47 Port Elizabeth South African Championships 13 April 2012
Shot put 14.08 Kladno IAAF Combined Events Challenge 15 June 2011
Discus throw 44.14 Woodford Green Woodford Green Open 17 July 2012
Javelin throw 66.95 Port Elizabeth South African Championships 14 April 2012
Indoor pentathlon 3709 Lee Valley South of England Open Pentathlon 6 January 2008
Indoor heptathlon 4862 Sheffield English Combined Events Championships 13 January 2008
Decathlon 8244 Port Elizabeth South African Championships 13-14 April 2012

References
  1. Willem Coertzen. Power of 10. Retrieved on 18 June 2011.
  2. 2008 African Championships. Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2011-06.18.
  3. SA record for Coertzen. SASCOC (27 May 2009). Retrieved on 2011-06-18.
  4. Sampaolo, Diego (10 May 2009). Ennis improves to 6587 pts in Desenzano del Garda – IAAF Combined Events Challenge. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-06-18.
  5. 2009 Hypo-Meeting Decathlon Final Standings. IAAF (2009). Retrieved on 18 June 2011.
  6. Personal best for Coertzen in Berlin. IOL Sport (21 August 2009). Retrieved on 2011-06-18.
  7. "Glasgow 2014 - Willem Coertzen Profile". g2014results.thecgf.com. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  8. Procházka, Michal (17 June 2011). Chernova impresses with 6773pts tally in Kladno – IAAF Combined Events Challenge. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-06-18.
  9. Williamson, Norrie (14 April 2012). Mokoka plays star role in Port Elizabeth – South African Champs. IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-04-21.
  10. van Kuijen, Hans (15 September 2013). Warner and Melnychenko win in Talence – IAAF Combined Events Challenge. IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-09-21.
  11. "Athlete Profile". thepowerof10.info. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
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