"He has committed 100 percent to regionals, is in it to win it, and I believe he can do it!" Mona Pretorius said.
“Placing fourth at regionals last year showed me that you cannot afford to have any weaknesses,” said Africa competitor Jaco Van der Vyver. “It was a priceless experience for me and it renewed my hunger and drive to get to the podium in 2014.
The athlete from the Eastern Cape of South Africa has been a top contender for the last couple of years with top-five finishes at both the Open and regional level in 2013 and 2014.
“I’ve been involved in high level competitive sport since the age of 10,” said the former provincial cricket and rugby player. “And through that I’ve learnt that you can’t let bad days keep you down. I started working towards 2014 regional the very day after the last regional.”
For the last year, he has followed the Outlaw Way and worked to keep his 6-foot 2 (187 cm) frame lean enough that he won’t suffer too much on gymnastics movements.
“At regionals last year I was 98 kg (216 lb.) and my gymnastics did suffer a lot, especially handstand push-ups and muscle-ups,” he said. “This year I’m 92 kg (200 lb.) and it makes a massive difference on everything. I feel very comfortable competing at this weight.”
In the last year, Van der Vyver has seen improvements in his lifting.
This year, the competitors have just three chances to set their one-rep-max hang squat snatch. The new structure tests accuracy and ability to perform under pressure, which Van der Vyver has worked.
He recently snatched 265 lb. (120 kg) and clean and jerked 320 lb. (145 kg) in an Olympic weightlifting competition.
“(Competition) is where it really counts,” he said.
He also has seen improvements in his conditioning, with his Diane time dropping from 4:10 to 2:20, and his 2-km row going from 7:05 to 6:38.
Paul Hofman, Van der Vyver’s training partner and close friend, thinks his friend’s newfound focus on clear goals has helped him tremendously.
“I think Jaco has been training a lot smarter than he used to with very specific goals in mind,” Hofman said. “He may have been guilty of a bit of a ‘gung ho’ attitude, but he has a more measured and mature approach characterized by focusing on achieving little goals each training session and constantly improving.”
“I believe Jaco has what it takes to be standing on the podium on June 1,” Hofman said.
Van der Vyver is looking forward to the first and last events in Johannesburg, South Africa.
“I know I will do well with anything that has pull-ups,” he said. “The movement comes very naturally to me. And overhead squats are one of my strengths.”
After all, his best performance in the Open this year was on 14.2—the couplet of overhead squats and chest-to-bar pull-ups. With 244 reps, he took third in the region.
Although the loading is dramatically heavier on Event 7 than on 14.2, he’s confident he will do well on the sprint of pull-ups and overhead squats.
His main concern is to survive Nasty Girls V2 (Event 3) on Friday afternoon, and the strict handstand push-ups in Event 4 at the start of competition on Saturday.
“Being tall has its ups and downs,” he said as he talked about his struggle with strict handstand push-ups. He has a long way to go, and a lot of weight to move.
No matter what, he’s excited to be there and see what he can do.
“I always see workouts like these as a good challenge, and I believe in my training program and in my own abilities, and that puts me at ease no matter the task,” he said. “I love what I do and I love doing well even more.”
2011 Reebok CrossFit Games competitor Mona Pretorius has trained with him for three years, and witnessed his development as a podium contender.
“I’ve seen Jaco grow year after year, in physical and psychological stature, especially in his self-confidence,” Pretorius said. “He has committed 100 percent to regionals, is in it to win it, and I believe he can do it!”
