Olympic Profile: Andre Olivier

Event: Men’s 800m
Age: 22
From: Central North West
Personal best: 1:44.29 (Monaco, 20 July 2012).
Season best: 1:44.29 (Monaco, 20 July 2012).
World Ranking: 15

First Olympic Games

When Olivier lines up for the men’s 800m on 6 August; it will be his very first visit to the prestigious Olympic Games.

Major Events

In 2007 Olivier represented South Africa as a junior athlete at the African Championships in Burkina Faso, where he finished fourth and in 2008 he competed at the World Junior Championships (2008), bringing home the bronze. The African Championships in Porto Novo, Benin was Olivier’s first major event as a senior athlete, where he won bronze in a time of 1:45.09.

This season

Olivier ran his first qualifier in Hengelo, Netherlands. The second one was recorded just over a month later at the Africa Championships in Benin.

Nine of Olivier’s 10 lifetime best performances were recorded in 2012:

1:44.29 6 Monaco 20 July 2012
1:45.09 3 Porto Novo, Benin 29 June 2012
1:45.20 7 Hengelo, Netherlands 27 May 2012
1:45.41 2 Stellenbosch 14 March 2009
1:45.75 6 Lille, France 9 June 2012
1:45.96 1 Oordegem, Belgium 2 June 2012
1:46.13 1 Montreuil-sous-bois, 5 June 2012
1:46.17 2 Port Elizabeth 14 April 2012
1:46.21 1 Potchefstroom 5 March 2012
1:46.63 1h3 Porto Novo,Benin 28 June 2012

Olympic Dreams

“I won the bronze medal at the World Junior Championships in 2008 and then I realized that I have it in me to compete at the Olympics one day,” said Olivier.
He also enjoys playing golf in his free time when he is not busy with athletics.

Back in time

In addition to the 800m and 1500m, Olivier competed in the 400m in 2006, 2008 and 2009. His best time was 46.95sec.

Schedule

Heats: 6 August, 10:50
Semi-finals: 7 August, 19:55
Finals: 9 August, 20:00