Zack Piontek
Birthday:
27 January 1991
Olympic event:
Compete in the under-90kg category.
Olympic participation:
2016 in Rio.
Coach:
Nikola Filipov (Bulgaria)
Olympic motivation:
The Olympic dream is a journey, and the lessons learned are already worth everything.
Best performance at a major meeting:
In 2014 I won the gold medal at the Commonwealth games in Glasgow for judo in the -90kg weight division. This medal is special, because leading to the event I was in good
sport shape, but for some reason I could not perform at the African championships less than a month before the commonwealth games. So the gold medal did help to boost
my confidence in myself.
What one or two things do you currently do in your training that are keys to your success?
In South Africa I am limited with training partners. So my coach makes us do a lot of “off the mat training”. This means that we do lots of cardio work and gym work. This we
combine with the judo training. Also we combine the right amount of recovery work to limit the risk to injury.
How do you deal with stress:
In any event stress and nervousness plays a big role. One of the things I do to try and handle it is to listen to music before I fight. The music is specially chosen to get me in
the right mind set.
What would be your ultimate achievement?
Gold medal at the Rio Olympics 2016
How do you set your goals?
I have had only one big goal my entire life and that is to represent South Africa at the Olympic games and all other smaller goals was set out in accordance to this.
What is your biggest challenge, and what do you do to manage this challenge?
Because judo is a competitive fighting sport, we need to be aware of what is currently going on in the world judo. We do this by going to as many training camps and competitions as possible and watch all the big judo events online, so that we at least stay up to date with the current judo.
What is your diet like?
I don’t have a specific diet which I follow. I only avoid things like alcohol and other unhealthy things.
What 1-2 things do you believe differentiates you from your contemporaries who have tailed off in their athletic participation and abilities?
Judo is a technical sport. I believe my techniques are in good standard and with my final Europe preparation I will be ready to compete.
What led to your breakthrough?
My first breakthrough was in 2014 Commonwealth Games with the gold medal in the -90kg division. But the next year 2015 I managed to get a silver medal at the African
Championships, this was my first senior African medal, this really boosted my confidence. Also later that year I was the first South African to ever compete for the bronze medal final at a Grand slam. I unfortunately lost that match, nut it was a very hard fought match and I got lots of respect from everyone.
What was the best advice you were ever given?
Believe in your abilities, if you train 3 times a day and 6 days a week, why should you lose…
Do you have a saying or motto that you live your life by?
I am a religious man and there are two things from the bible I really live by: “What you sow is what you reap” and “I can do all things through Christ which strengthen me”.
Where do you draw your inspiration from?
People inspire me. Especially their stories of how they have overcome serious setbacks. I can relate to it as judo is perceived in South Africa to be a minor sport. So each
fight I win is a step closer to prove it is not so.