Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 98, September 2017 | Page 14

Ma Feature
Tshenolo Lemao
Ready
for
to be crowned World u/18 High Jump Champion.
“All the excitement in Kenya was crazy, and I started
celebrating whilst the bar was still shaking, but the joy
and relief knowing that I just cleared the bar at 2.24m
was an incredible feeling,” he says.
Ten years ago, at the (then) IAAF World Youth Championships in Ostrava, Czech
Republic, the South African team finished a lacklustre 22nd on the medal table.
Fast forward to 2017 and Team South Africa’s u/18 athletes are sitting on top of
the world – literally – having taken the number one spot on the medal table at
the recent IAAF World U/18 Championships (as they are now known) in Nairobi,
Kenya. – BY REGGIE HUFKIE
S
outh Africa competed in five IAAF World Youth
Championship meets between 2007 and 2015,
managing to bring home a total of 13 medals
across five meets. By comparison, at the 2017
championships, our athletes won a record-breaking
haul of 11 medals in a single meet, consisting of
five gold, three silver and three bronze medals. This
points to the next generation of South African athletes
being well on track to emulating the current crop
of top South African senior athletes that have been
medalling on the world stage, such as Wayde van
Niekerk, Caster Sememya and Luvo Manyonga. In the
meantime, we caught up with our five newly crowned
World Champions.
RETSHIDISITSWE MLENGA
(Boys’ 200m Gold, 100m Silver)
Built lean, more like a long distance athlete than a
sprinter, Retshidisitswe’s soft-spoken persona doesn’t
look the part either, but on the track he is a different
man – and if you saw his roaring celebration after
14
clinching the 200m World Title, you would realise he is
not shy to express himself.
In Nairobi, he also showed the world that he does not
back down from a challenge, after narrowly losing the
boys’ 100m final to his good friend Tshenolo Lemao.
“My coach told me that I work 10 times harder than
anybody else on that starting line, and when I came
second in the 100m and saw my coach’s face, I told
myself I can’t let my coach, my parents and my family
down.” (He is coached by triple jumper Reneilwe
Aphane.)
He duly responded with an even greater effort in
the 200m, winning in 21.03 seconds, just ahead of
Tshenolo for another SA one-two in the boys’ sprints.
“I came into the 200m final very focused, having
made a mistake in the 100m final,” he says simply.
But ask him for his long-term goals, and he just oozes
confidence: “I would like to see myself as one of the
best ranked athletes in the world about 10 years from
now.”
BREYTON POOLE
(Boys’ High Jump Gold)
Having represented Western Province in gymnastics in
primary school, as well as rugby throughout primary
and high school (u/12, u/13 and u/16), plus cross
country and hockey, Breyton boasts a ‘Poole’ of talent.
The 1.73m tall powerhouse believes that anything
is possible, and that got him over the bar at 2.24m
ISSUE 98 SEPTEMBER 2017 / www.modernathlete.co.za
TSHENOLO LEMAO
(Boys’ 100m Gold, 200m silver)
His name was written into the history books on a
wet evening when he won the IAAF World u/18
Championships100m title in 10.57 seconds, becoming
the first South African to medal, let alone win, a 100m
at a modern World Championships. “I’ve been working
four years towards this, so now I’m ecstatic that I’ve
achieved it,” said an ecstatic Tshenolo moments after
his victory.
But there was more to come, when he and teammate
Retshidisitswe Mlenga also made the 200m final.
Having won the 100m gold, Tshenolo was favourite
to win the 200m as well, but in spite of a blistering
start, it was Retshidisitswe who took gold in 21.03,
while Tshenolo posted a PB 21.12 for the silver. While
slightky disappointed, Tshenolo was still thrilled that it
gave the two South Africans a gold-silver double each.
Having moved from St Andrews in Bloemfontein
to the Tuks Sport High School in 2016, Tshenolo’s
solid relationship with specialist sprint Coach Thabo
Mathebedi from the Grigora Training Group at Tuks
could mean still bigger things for him in the sport,
especially considering that he still played provincial
hockey in 2015. He says he took time to adjust to the
move, but it has been more than worth it. “Honestly,
it wasn’t easy being in a hostel at first, because being
away from home made it more difficult, but having
great friends Gift Leotlela and Malisela Senona there
made the shift easier. Also, I think my positive attitude
played a major role in my success, and that’s the same
attitude I approach training with.”
Stardom
Breyton is coached by Bennie Schlecter and after a
record-breaking season and World Championships
title, it seems the choice to focus on athletics is paying
off for this multi-talented sportsman, who hung up his
rugby boots for good in 2016. “I don’t regret choosing
athletics at all, and next year I’m hoping to qualify
for the World Junior Champs in Finland,” he says. “My
long term goal is to go to the Olympics in three years,
because I’m still 5cm short of the 2.29m qualification
mark.”