Victor Hogan delighted to win first-ever African Games gold medal

The 34-year-old returned to the continental games following a 13-year hiatus, having last bagged a silver medal in Maputo, Mozambique as far back as 2011, while still wet behind the ears.

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Reflecting on the growth of the African Games since his last appearance, Hogan highlighted that he needed to show his own growth by going one better this time around.

"No, I think the [level of] competition is kind of the same, I think I was just a bit young at that stage [in Maputo] and there were some good throwers around," he told SABC Sport.

"So ja, I actually realised a week ago that I haven't won a gold medal at the African Games, so I made it my goal to win the gold this time."

Having registered a season's best 62.56m, beating Algeria’s Khennoussi Oussama by 2.99m, Hogan feels experience came to the fore after he initially struggled to keep the pace on his rivals.

"I think just the experience, yesterday [Monday] as well, throughout the rounds I was behind almost on every throw until the fourth round, and I had to use my experience to stay calm and pull out the bigger throw," he added.

While it is still early in the 2024 season, the Vredenburg-born athlete says his aim has long been to peak at the optimal time of the year, with the Olympic Games on the horizon – provided he gets selected for Team SA.

"Definitely with the programming and planning, [the aim] is to peak later in the year, and this is actually kind of an alright distance for me to be satisfied with where I am in my programme," Hogan noted.

"So I'm planning to peak later in this season and improve that PB and throw further, and my goal is obviously to be at my best at the Olympics.

"I've missed the Olympics as well – I've never been to the Olympics, I've been to five World Championships and always seem to miss the Olympics, so it's really my dream and I'm hoping to make the team."