LOS ANGELES, May 6 — Adrian Wildschutt, a former Florida State standout, broke the South African national record for the 10,000 meters at the 2023 Sound Running’s On Track Fest on Saturday night with a personal best time of 27:23.10. Wildschutt pulled away from his training partner, Alex Masai of Kenya, in the second half of the race to take a commanding lead and secure the victory.
Masai, also representing the Hoka NAZ Elite track club, struggled to keep up with Wildschutt’s pace after trying to stay with him early on. Wildschutt made a late surge with 800 meters to go and finished with a 61.5-second final 400 meters to chop 15 seconds off his previous personal best.
Wildschutt expressed his gratitude on his Instagram account, saying, “Very grateful to God that I was able to compete again at the Track Fest last night in the 10,000m after not racing for 6 months. Got away with a national record and PR of 27:23. On to the next.”
The 25-year-old improved the long-standing South African national record of 27:29.94, set in 1999 by Hendrick Ramaala in Port Elizabeth. It was the fourth time Wildschutt was breaking 28-minutes for the 10,000m.
Thomas George of Roots Running Project and Ryan Ford of Zap Endurance both recorded personal best times to finish third and fourth, respectively. George finished with a time of 28:06.26, while Ford finished in 28:09.53.
The impressive performance by Wildschutt puts him in a strong position for future competitions as he continues to prepare for this summer’s World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
Men’s 10,000m Result:
- Adriaan Wildschutt – Hoka NAZ Elite – 27:23.10
- Alex Masai – Hoka NAZ Elite – 27:51.68
- Thomas George – Roots Running Project – 28:06.26
- Ryan Ford – Zap Endurance – 28:09.53
- Eric Hammer – Boston Athletic Association – 28:21.39
- Noah Schutte – unattached – 28:25.23
- Andre Waring – Brooks Running Australia – 28:31.10
- Joseph Trojan – unattached – 28:49.10
- Geoff Kipchumba – Army WCAP – 29:08.54
- TianYu CHEN – China AA – 29:48.05
DNF. Brian Barraza – PACER DNF. Arron Spiessberger-Parker – Asics Team Tempo Elite DNF. Mike Tate – London Western TFC DNF. Ahmed Muhumed – PACER DNF. Avinash Sable – ADP / India / Nike DNS. Benjamin Eidenschink – unattached DNS. Blaise Ferro – Puma DNS. Ivan Gonzalez – Porvenir
