Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 51, October 2013 | Page 10

In the Lead

Sowetan

Speed-star

Holding national titles for the 1 500m and 5 000m track events and currently ranked second to Caster Semenya in the 800m, Mapaseka ‘Speed-star’ Makhanya has made the transition to road running – with the podium finishes to match! The humble athlete and hardworking mother is revelling in her 2013 victories and says she’s dreaming about the bigger distances in Rio 2016. – BY LAUREN VAN DER VYVER
“I’ve always had that winning mentality. My coach, Lungile Bikwani, has made that a part of who I am now,” says the Sowetan speedster. “I’ve got the results and I’m happy, but I know that I can go faster!” And while many still identify her with middle distance events on the track, Mapaseka is happy to embrace new challenges in the sport she loves. “The track will always be my home and where I’m comfortable, but I know now that I have a future at road running,” she says. “All it takes is the same dedication and enthusiasm that I’ve had at training all these years.”

his really has been Mapaseka Makhanya’s year! So far in 2013, she not only did the double at the SA Senior Track and Field Champs by winning both the 1 500m and 5 000m titles, she also set new personal bests for 800m, 3 000m and 5 000m. Then she shifted her focus to the national Spar Ladies 10km series on the road once the track season was over, winning the Durban leg in a PB 32:49, breaking the course record in Pretoria, and finishing second in Cape Town and third in Port Elizabeth. With just the Johannesburg leg to go, she has all but won the Spar Grand Prix competition, as she is now 29 points ahead of Irvette van Zyl, and she is confident she can win in Jozi as well. Then, to top it all off, in early September she also ran her debut 42km at the Gauteng Marathon, cruising home in 2:37:06 to record the second-fastest time by a South African woman this year.

T

Young Talent
Running has always been a part of Mapaseka’s life. At school, she took part in cross-country and track events, and that continued into her student years at the University of Johannesburg, where she studied sports coaching and office administration. In her teens, she represented South Africa at the World Youth Champs, World Junior Champs and World School Games, but she says taking the ladder to senior level competition was difficult. “At that point, I was just happy to be a part of the pro set-up,” she says. “I wasn’t as serious about it. It was just an opportunity to get a unique perspective on athletics and how one can make a living out of it. But there’s a development gap in this country. Between the ages of 19 and 24, there’s a huge difference between the juniors and seniors, so at first, I wanted to quit when I reached that level, but my coach pushed me through it and I got a lot stronger.” Now, the decision to step up to longer distances and leave the track is a bittersweet one for Mapaseka. “Track and field is dying in this country, so while I still love it, road running is becoming more popular and there’s definitely a future for me there in the coming years. It’s meant a different way of training – I’m still on the track a lot for speed, but now I run the mileage and have to entertain that long-distance mentality.”

Images: Jetline Action Photo & Reg Caldecott