Lebogang Shange motivated to get a good result in China

Posted on September 19, 2018

It might just be third time lucky for the Lebogang Shange when he competes from Sunday in the ‘Around Taihu’ International Multi-day Race Walking event in China.
 
Last year Shange and Australia’s Dane Bird-Smith were involved in a titanic battle over four days. It ended with the Aussie beating Shange by 45s. The first time the HPC based athlete competed, he finished fourth overall.
 
There is a little bit more at stake on Sunday as the 20km race, the first stage forms part of the IAAF Race Walking Challenge-series. Which means it is going to be competition within a competition. Shange is currently eighth overall on the IAAF standings, but that could change if he is on top of his game.
 
The big question is which Shange is going to rock up on Sunday? He is not sure of that himself.
 
“Results-wise 2018 has not been a good year for me. There had been some good performances but to be honest, I did not achieve any of the goals I set for myself. It is not due to a lack of trying. I was unfortunate to have some health issues which made an impact on my abilities. Luckily everything is sorted now. 
 
“This I can promise. I will be racing to win from Sunday on, but it is going to be tough. Because the 20km race has now got ‘IAAF gold status’ it has attracted some of the best walkers. The weather conditions in China can also be tricky. It can rain at any time, or it can be cold. Personally, I prefer it to be hot and humid. That is when I am at my best.”
 
However, Shange proved last year during the 10km race that he can hold his own in adverse weather conditions. There was a torrential downpour during the race which meant the race walkers often had to stride through deep puddles. Shange did not get unsettled. He made his move after seven kilometres and went on to win setting a new South African record of 39:48.
 
After Sunday’s 20km race the next two stages will be contested over 10km. The ‘Around Taihu’ is one of the best paydays on the international race walking calendar. The first prize in the team competition amounts roughly to R400 000 and the second prize is R200 000. The prize money for the individual winner is R130 000.
 
Shange has already started planning for next year’s World Championships in Doha.
 
“I hope to qualify early next year in Australia for the Championships. If I do so, it will mean that I mainly could just focus on ensuring that I will be at my best by the time I need to race. My Hungarian coach, Sandor Rácz, is quite big on leaving nothing to chance. We know I will have to race in extreme heat in Doha that is why I will be doing a lot of my training on a treadmill in a specially heated room to get my body to adapt.”
 
Wayne Snyman who is also an HPC based athlete is also competing from Sunday. He is highly motivated as he describes his performances up to now as a dismal failure. 
 
“I got something to prove because I know I am better racing walker than the results I had so far. I need to start believing in my abilities and race more aggressively.”
- Author Wilhelm de Swardt

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