Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 116, March 2019 | Page 46

RACE WALKING
LONG WALK
TO DOHA
G
oing into the 2016 Olympics, Lebogang Shange was optimistic of a top
10 finish in the 20km race walk after his bronze medal in the 20km walk at
the Africa Championships in Durban earlier that year. However, the wheels
came off in the heat and humidity of Rio. He eventually dropped back to 44th after
being with the leaders for much of the race, but such were the conditions that 14 of
the 77 competitors, nearly 20%, did not finish.
The disappointment in Rio did have a positive effect, though. Upon his return to
South Africa, Lebogang had one goal in mind, to get to the top of international
race walking. His record was already quite impressive: He had twice won the Africa
Championships Title, in 2013 and 2014, and then finished third in 2016. The hard
work and self-belief combined soon paid off as he took fourth at the 2017 World
Championships in London, coming home in 1:19:18 to finish a mere 15 seconds off
the bronze medal position and break the SA Record.
PROBLEM TO IRON OUT
Naturally, this saw Lebogang start 2018 in high spirits, and his year got off to a
great start when he won the Memorial Jerzy Hausleber 20km in Monterrey, Mexico
in February, clocking 1:24.32. Unfortunately, bad news followed when it was
discovered that he had a low iron count, explaining why he was feeling somewhat
lethargic, but testament to his fighting spirit and resilience, he still gave everything
at the 20km race walk event at the Commonwealth Games in Australia that April.
Unfortunately, the hot conditions combined with his low iron count saw him start
to fall back after a strong start, and in the end he had to settle for ninth place, but
he still managed a faster time than in Monterrey. “It was brutal. I couldn’t find my
rhythm at all,” he said after the race.
In May Lebogang travelled to China for the World Race Walking Team
Championships, crossing the line 15th out of 80 finishers, but again the iron
deficiency took its toll. Then in August he shared the silver medal at the Africa
Championships in Asaba, Nigeria. It was a tightly contested affair, as a mere 13
seconds separated the winner from the two who finished in second, but it allowed
Lebogang to complete his collection of Africa Champs medals.
Since 2016, Lebogang has ended his season each year in September at the
three-day Around Taihu International Race Walking competition in Suzhou, China.
This event comprises individual and team events over three to four days, with the
winners being determined by overall combined times, and the event has become a
happy hunting ground for the South African.
Arguably South Africa’s
most successful race
walker in recent
years, Pretoria-based
Lebogang Shange
(28) is nothing if not a
confident competitor,
and that bodes well for
the World Champs later
this year.
– BY MANFRED SEIDLER
His first venture to Suzhou in 2016 saw him finish sixth, which he improved to a
second place in 2017, finishing just two seconds behind the winner. In fact, such
was the depth of competition at that year’s race that the top five were separated by
just five seconds. Fast forward to 2018 and there was no way Lebogang was going
to settle for less than a win, which he duly claimed, finishing three seconds ahead
of his nearest rival.
BIG TEST AHEAD
This year, the big test as to whether Lebogang’s iron deficiency has been finally
resolved will take place on Friday 4 October, when the 20km race walking event at
the World Championships gets underway in Doha. He firmly believes he has what
it takes to medal at World Champs, given his performance in London in 2017, and
thankfully the heat shouldn’t be as big a factor this time round. The event will start
at 11:30pm, as the organisers have scheduled events later in the evening to combat
the incredible heat expected in Qatar at that time of the year.
In the build-up to Doha, Lebogang will follow his usual programme of heading
overseas in March and basing himself in Spain and Switzerland to prepare for the
major events of the year. Both training bases are at altitude, and thanks to travel in
Europe being easy and convenient, it allows him to regularly line up in competitive
races without the need for long travel time.
SOLID PEDIGREE
46
ISSUE 116 MARCH 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za
Lebogang’s has won six national titles and represented South Africa 14 times,
including at the 2016 Olympics and the last three World Championships in 2013,
2015 and 2017. Some of the other highlights of his international career include:
2013 Africa Champs – 20km gold medal
2014 Africa Champs – 20km gold medal
2015 All Africa Games – 10km gold medal
2016 Africa Championships – 20km bronze medal
2017 World Championships – 20km fourth place
He is not afraid of taking the race to his competitors and is known to be aggressive
in his approach to racing tactics. While not competing in a high profile event of the
sport, Lebogang could well be one of the athletes we will look to for a medal come
the World Championships in Doha in October this year.