My name is Banele Shabangu, I fell in love with sport, because it gave me a sense of belonging. Sport gave me a home that no one else could’ve given me. Sport has made me feel like I’m worth it. There are a lot of things I’m capable of doing, things that I never would’ve learnt if I was not exposed to the sports industry.
I decided athletics was the way to go when life was really giving me so many reasons to give up. When I started doing athletics, I realized that it kept me very busy and disciplined. All my life I have been doing athletics because it became my way of living and my escape tunnel from reality.
I started taking it seriously when I was given the opportunity to go study at Prestige with a bursary, I saw a chance and I took it because I know that my parents won’t have to worry about covering my fees. I worked so hard that things came to me very easy and I took the decision that I will use my talent to make life easy and to remove a heavy load on my parent’s shoulders’.
My first big career highlight was winning my first junior title, it was not just a junior tittle but two titles for the 100m and 200m (2021).
Since then, I have also won my first senior competition on the 200m.
Being crowned SA 200m champion at the recent ASA Track and Field National championship was overwhelming because I have never thought I was going to make it and yet I felt honoured to be appreciated by my fellow teammates and family.
A typical training day for me is waking up early in the morning and head to the track before doing anything first. Just to get my day started I have my sessions with my coach and late on have some recovery preparing for the next day of training.
I am grateful for the support of my sponsor, Puma, because with them I wouldn’t have anything I have today in terms of training gear and so forth. They make my life easier because I don’t have to ask my parents to buy me a lot of things since I got the opportunity to have a sponsor.
Sponsors are important to the growth of women’s sport because they help women get to the top and women finally have access to a lot of things that they never had.
My sporting hero is Jesse Owens, the man who had nothing in the beginning of his career to be an Olympian and won four Gold medals in a single Olympic Games.
My dream is to be like Jesse and push until I get to the Top where I have enough strength to show and tell people my story and teach the upcoming stars that patience is the key to success in life. You need to be patient with yourself and your sport, work hard to a point where you don’t have to introduce yourself in the future.
Photo Caption: Athletics sensation and newly crowned South African women’s 200m champion, Puma-backed Banele Shabangu, blogs about her journey in athletics and how sponsors play a big role in helping women in sport get to the top. Photo: Banele Shabangu (IG)
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