How fitting is it that August is the month when International Left Handers Day is celebrated and SA’s latest shot put sensation Aiden Smith just happens to be a left-hander?
The Kempton Park athlete returned from Europe last Saturday having just been crowned World University Games shot put champion in Berlin, Germany.
It’s becoming common for Smith, who turns 21 in October, to leave his best efforts to last and again it was with his sixth and final throw that Smith heaved the silver sphere 20.25m to take gold.
Despite weighing in at 120kg and standing 1.94m, Smith is actually not a giant in shot put terms, only coming up to the shoulders of some of his senior rivals.
Currently studying retail business management at Tshwane University of Technology, it’s sporting talent that’s the common thread running through the Smith family.
“My older brother Dwayne is quick, he’s 22 and runs a 10.1 sec 100m. My younger brother Taelyn, 17, is a high jumper who clears 2.2m and is not far off the national junior record.
“And then there’s my younger sister Kaeley, who runs the 400m and she’s in grade 8. Neither me nor my brothers were doing athletics in grade 8.”
A rugby fan from birth, Smith had dreams of being a Springbok rugby player and in fact got a rugby bursary at Menlo Park High School. But it was when the Covid-19 pandemic hit that the athletics bug started to bite.
“My dad, who has always been my hero (he’s been the family’s rock and I can ask him anything) suggested I focus on shot put because it wasn’t a contact sport and you could still compete online with videos and so on.”
Shot put started taking him places and it was in Kenya for the World U20 Championships where, despite not making the final, he realised that shot put could be a future.
The next World U20 championships were in Columbia in 2022 but it was his dream sport of rugby that gave him nightmares.
“I was about to play a match for Menlo Park and in the warm-up I broke my ankle, tore all the ligaments and had to have an operation. The doc said it was a six-month recovery, and it was also six months to world champs.
“It was my first week out of the moon boot and I still placed eighth. The rest of the year was spent trying to get things right after the operation.”
The next year didn’t bring much better news though and he damaged his shoulder badly in a gym session. If he thought the ankle injury was debilitating this was a whole new ball game.
Doctors said it would need 18 months of rehab unless he had an operation.
“It was just before Valentine’s Day when I injured myself and that turned out to be my lowest point. I ended up cutting almost everyone out of my life and it was a case of home-gym-home. I couldn’t see light at the end of the tunnel.”
He did see the light though in terms of faith and says he found God during those dark days, something that helped him see the bigger picture.
Hero dad Rudi was always there for him, with coach Constant van Rooyen, and it was during that time that he came up with the phrase “I have no limitations”, a constant inspiration to him in tough times.
This year saw him beating Kyle Blignaut on the way to a personal best of 20.73 at a grand prix meeting in Pretoria.
“Kyle has been the face of SA shot put for so long now, so to beat him with a 20.73 personal best was something … my life changed within a week. Suddenly I had kit sponsorship, an agent. I just felt like I was ‘back and here to stay’.”
What also changed was that he found another rock in his life: now-girlfriend Kayla Luus.
“We met online and there was an instant connection. I’ve never opened up to someone like this. My dad is always there for me but this is different. She’s like a shot of espresso in the morning and a sunflower that shines at night.”
This year has seen him being crowned national champion and now world university champion, but it didn’t come without hiccups.
“While I was in Europe, where I threw in at least four competitions, I strained my hamstring running a ‘fun’ 60m dash against [Olympian] Wayde van Niekerk, a guy I really look up to as another ‘dad’. I beat him, but it came at a real cost,” he smiles ruefully.
He gives credit to Team SA physiotherapist Thabang Themo. “He helped me so much and fixed me good and proper.”
Come the University Games and Smith deliberately held back during qualifying to nurse his hamstring yet still had the second-best throw of qualifying.
Describing the winning throw he says: “I just knew I had to throw my left leg into the ring, drive through and follow the ball but it was actually more an emotionally driven throw, all controlled power, and I felt midway through that it was a goody.”
When he realised it was the winning throw, the emotion set in. “I just took the flag and even though officials were preparing for the 200m final I was running everywhere with the flag. I couldn’t walk afterwards — but that was just too bad.”
So the child who dreamt of rugby fame is now actually living the shot-put dream. “It’s reality. I’m in such a good space now and working towards world seniors in Tokyo next month where I’m looking for a 21m throw and a place in the final.”
As he says, he has no limitations … it’s time to shine, like a sunflower, in the land of the rising sun.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.