Maritz leads Plainsmen into track and field provincials

For everyone else’s safety, Elbert Maritz has to double-check his landing area before starting his routine.

Most track and field athletes know not to walk across the half of the outfield where the javelin throwers are.

But the South African’s range extends far beyond that of his competitors — and beyond the imaginations of everyone else.

The Crocus Plains senior is entering the varsity boys javelin event at the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association track and field provincials as the clear-cut No. 1 seed today. His mark of 53 metres at the city championships is 10 metres clear of anyone else, despite it being about 10 metres shy of his personal best.

“Knowing I have the furthest at the moment definitely had a small impact on me, which it should not have. With that, it drives me to keep that placing,” Maritz said, adding he knows the No. 1 seed doesn’t afford him any advantage at provincials.

“Going into the competition, anybody can beat me that day. I can have a horrible throw and it can only go 30 metres. Or that guy can get real lucky and throw 60, anything can happen on the day.”

Maritz grew up in a farming family, and when they were looking for “different scenery,” they heard about western Manitoba, visited a few times and decided to move.

He immediately turned heads at the track when he first showcased his ability in the javelin, shot put and discus events at city meets.

Unlike the majority of local athletes, who try a few track and field events for a few weeks out of the year, Maritz has been working on his throws with coaches since junior high. He attended an all-English school back home, one that didn’t have rugby or the other sports someone with his build would excel in.

Maritz also did long-distance running at the start, but the powerful, six-foot-three senior realized his greatest potential is in the throws.

“I started with that and turned out to be pretty good. I got with a couple of coaches who taught me enough and I kept doing it, kept getting better,” Maritz said.

“I’m very excited for this weekend, hoping to compete against athletes that are top-tier.”

He has competed at South African national championships, placing in the top 10 in his age class.

Maritz won all three varsity boys’ titles at the city championships. At provincials, he’s the favourite in the javelin, a medal hopeful in the discus and a bit of a dark horse in the shot put.

While the shot put can seem like a pure power sport to the untrained eye, Maritz explained his coaches’ subtle tips, like twisting a bit more during his spin, have added metres to his distance.

He said the javelin is more of a feel sport. He makes sure the outfield is clear, then sets his grip on the javelin, thinks about his steps and focuses on the fault line.

“That line is no-man’s land. You don’t go there.”

Maritz selects a target — not in the grass, but in the sky.

He’s not concerned with where it lands; he has no control over that. He just wants to release the javelin at the right trajectory, which varies depending on the wind.

He can picture his pre-throw routine perfectly, but struggles to explain the actual action.

“It’s hard for me to explain because it all goes blank. I’ve done it enough times that I don’t think about it anymore. It’s a natural motion for me now,” Maritz said.

Javelin qualifying is today at noon at University of Manitoba Stadium.

His discus qualifying is on Saturday at 9 a.m., with shot put at noon. The top 12 qualifiers move on to the final, which runs the day after the event’s qualifier.

“I want to see what Canadian athletes have,” Maritz said. “Coming from South Africa, I’m used to tough competition, so I’m looking forward to it.”

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com