A 26-year-old sprint and track athlete from Loevenstein in Bellville is still in awe after his latest achievement at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
The event took place from Saturday 13 September to Sunday 21 September.
Gardeo Isaacs says he still can’t believe it. “It is still sinking in, and I must get used to a medal,” he says in his family home still recovering from jet lag.
He recently won a bronze medal at the Tokyo World Championship Athletics 2025 as part of the South African men’s 4x400m relay team. The team secured the bronze medal with a time of 2:57.83 seconds, narrowly missing silver.
Isaacs says the last time SA won a medal was in 2017. So, to him this means something major for the country, and it also means they are somehow headed in the right direction.
He says for the next generation this was an inspiration. Isaacs says he’s not doing this for himself but for his family and also the country, as this was always a dream for him to represent his country.
“To get that first medal after eight years still gives me goosebumps.”
Isaacs’ athletic career started back in high school. He first started out to play soccer but laugh when he says he did not like the aspect where he had to work hard and the next person was just feeding from someone else. Also, the fact that one person was not accountable for the success of the team.
When he went to high school, he did athletics. First without training before he realised, he can do so much better with the training.
The rest is history. Isaacs mentions he trains five days a week, three gym sessions. A typical training day for him ranges from two hours to two and a half hours.
He advises those who would like to follow in his footsteps or dream of being any successful athlete to dream big and keep working hard and believe everyone’s timing is different.
Success
Being an athlete, or any successful sport means a lot of sacrifices. Isaacs says: “Obviously, if you’re a sports person in general – I had to personally sacrifice my social life and party times. I had to balance the two out.”
For him, family time is important. That is why he likes to spend time with his family if he wants to unwind. To relax he would take a drive to the beach and enjoy ice cream. When he is not on the tracks, he also likes to play video games with his friends and watch his favourite soccer team play.
Isaacs adds: “At the end of the day, my dad always says, if you sacrifice and make big sacrifices, the rewards will be bigger in the end.”
Isaacs ran all over the world already, but his goal for now is to just run and become a world champion. In the long run he would also like to use his accounting degree, which he obtained this year and start his own company and be his own boss.
Isaacs is grateful for his parents who is his greatest supporters since day one. His coach and sister are also the two people who helped shape his success. “My coach and definitely my sister, because they are always one call away and offer the best advice as far as they can,” he adds.
