Sanele Shange felt the total support of his community when trying to follow his Ironman dream; in the process, he has made history and can represent SA at the World Championship.
Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa (02 December 2021) – Sanele Shange is an inspiration to his fellow South Africans. Sanele has made history as the first black South African to earn a podium place at the Ironman African Championship and has qualified for the World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawai’í, next year.
During the African Championship hosted in Nelson Mandela Bay this year, Sanele was the first South African to cross the finish line in his age group. He finished with a time of 08:41:12, coming in second behind Antoine Bezault from France.
Sanele’s community played a significant role in his success on the day. They came together to raise funds to cover the entry fees, transport, training and racing gear. His success is the product of South African Ubuntu.
He started his journey five years ago. He was part of a running club, and after chatting to a few of the members about triathlons, he made the jump and worked on his bike strength. During that time, Sanele felt the support of his community. He qualified for several big events and, with help, managed to attend some of them.
“I was fortunate enough to have members of the local community who were willing to lend me the gear that I needed for training and racing. After doing my first triathlon race, I qualified for the South African Triathlon Championship, and there I qualified for the World Triathlon Championship, but I did not have the funds to go and participate. I tried to raise the funds but I, unfortunately, couldn’t raise the funds needed to travel.”
Sanele trained hard for the Ironman; he spent time in Durban, training in the rough seas there. As this was his first Ironman, it is incredible that his efforts have paid off so well!
The 3.8km swim course had to be shortened due to strong currents and choppy sea conditions, being reduced to 700 metres. The 180km bike course and 42.2km run course remained the same.
“I was used to the rough sea conditions, training in Durban helped prepare me for this so I wasn’t too bothered. I have had a lot of experience swimming in rough sea conditions. The bike was windy, but I had put in a lot of mileage with my coach on the saddle, so this helped in preparing my legs for those windy conditions. And the run, well this is what I live for, I love running so I enjoyed it”
“Qualifying for Kona [IRONMAN World Championship] means so much to me. Since I started the sport, this has been my goal. I want to race alongside one of my idols who is Jan Frodeno, a legend in the sport. This has always been my dream. I am grateful to everyone who helped me get to this point.”
The Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawai’í, is scheduled to take place on 6 – 8 October 2022. He will represent South Africa and race against the world’s best long-distance triathletes.
by 