Gardeo Isaacs excited about the national championships coming home to Stellenbosch

The talented 400m runner trains regularly at the Stellenbosch track and believes the familiar surroundings will provide the perfect stage as he lines up against the country’s best quarter-milers.

Isaacs says the atmosphere will be special, with family and friends eager to see him perform on the same track where he spends most of his training days.

The 27-year-old, who won bronze with the South African 4x400m relay team at last year’s World Championships in Tokyo, says racing on home soil does not add pressure but rather motivation. 

Isaacs insists the national championships will be a celebration of competition, especially as he prepares to face close friends and rivals Lythe Pillay and Zakhithi Nene. 

Instead of feeling the weight of expectation, Isaacs believes the support from the crowd will inspire him to deliver one of his best performances yet.

"We are all there to chase the gold medal and there is always going to be pressure on how we deal with that at the end of the day. The depth is insane, and like I've said the faster they run, the faster I will be going so I'm just going to use that to my benefit."

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Isaacs, who also secured a silver medal with the South African 4x400m team at the World Relay Championships in the Bahamas in 2024, says his season opener is still being finalised. 

The Stellenbosch-based athlete explains that his focus is on building momentum for the international season, with major relay competitions firmly on the radar. 

He remains confident that careful planning will help him peak at the right time.

"We are just trying to be consistent at the moment with training and following the plan as usual. The bronze medal we won last year is a good platform as to what's in store for this year, and hopefully we can take it a step further."

With a personal best of 45.15 seconds, Isaacs is targeting the Commonwealth Games qualifying mark of 44.85 seconds for the upcoming Games in Glasgow, Scotland from 23 July to 2 August. 

The determined quarter-miler says representing South Africa in both the 400m and 4x400m relay would be a dream opportunity, and he is determined to run as fast as possible to secure his place.