High-riding Tayla Kavanagh is carving out her career on her terms as she eyes a clutch of South African records, many of them older than she is.
The 24-year-old Durban athlete is, unusually, coaching herself, and as an established road runner, she’s moving against the tide by placing an increasing emphasis on the track, where she enjoyed a storming eight days that surprised even herself.
First Kavanagh went 8min 46.86sec over 3,000m at the Cape Milers meet in Stellenbosch earlier this month to fly into sixth spot on the all-time South African list, topped by Elana Meyer’s 8:32.00 from 1991.
Then at the national championships last weekend, also in Stellenbosch, she became only the third South African to dip under 15 minutes in the 5,000m, clocking 14:58.52, which is second to Meyer’s 14:44.05 from 1995.
And running the 10,000m for only the second time, Kavanagh won in 32:05.59, fifth behind Meyer’s 30:52.51 from 1994.
As important as Olympics
Meyer also owns the 15:10 5km and 1:06:44 half-marathon marks on the road, from 1994 and 1999, respectively, while Glenrose Xaba’s 10km record was set in mid-2024. “Trying to run a South African record for me is like almost as important as going to the Olympics,” Kavanagh told the Sunday Times this week.
“I try to make sure that I don’t only have [just] one goal. I’m really wanting to chase some really fast times on the road and see how far I can really push myself. I do believe I have incredible talent, and I do believe in myself and my training.”
Her recent performances have widened her interest.
“I would say that the track records are as tough as the road records. I’ve thoroughly surprised myself on the track.
“I exceeded my expectations by far,” added Kavanagh, who loved running above other sports at school.
Own clothing brand
After doing business and entrepreneurship courses after school, Kavanagh had considered opening her own clothing brand. “I actually signed with adidas so I thought that might be a conflict of interest,” she said with a laugh.
There was a time Kavanagh saw herself chasing qualification for Los Angeles 2028 in the marathon, but her recent track successes have confirmed that there’s no rush to take on the 42.2km. She can try to get to the Games through the 10,000m.
She believes she has a lot more to give in that race. “I’m excited to see what I can do racing with competition. What could I have done if I had someone on my heels or if I was chasing someone?
“I’m loving what I’m doing and I know that the shorter stuff will only help me with my longer stuff later on… You’ve got to transition to that longer stuff. I’d like to do it in small increments. I’d love to get to the half marathon and really smash [that] out.”
At least Kavanagh is following conventional athletics wisdom on that score. But she’s happy with her journey so far. “I’ve done it the opposite way, which is quite cool.”
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