Mabena qualifies for USA nationals

Often, that is when the truly hard work starts, as can be attested by Modimolle athlete William Mabena.

The sweat and tears have, however, paid off, as he recorded an all-time top 10 finish in his 200 m event for the Tritons during the South Dakota State University Indoor Classic in the United States earlier this month. Mabena received a scholarship from the Iowa Central Community College, where he started attending classes in September last year.

Mabena, who matriculated at Hoërskool Nylstroom in 2018, counts being SA’s school 100 m record holder, Limpopo junior record holder in the 100 m, 200 m, and 400 m as well as being the Gauteng junior 200 m champion, among his many achievements.

He attended Mohlakamotala Secondary School in Alma until Grd 10. His talent caught much attention and he enrolled at Hoërskool Nylstroom where he was placed under the auspice of experienced athletics coach Jaco Vosloo.

During the South Dakota State University Indoor Classic meeting, Mabena took first place in the men’s 200 m (see the video on Die Pos/The Post’s Facebook page). He clocked the fastest time (21.52 s) of the 123 athletes and qualified to take part in the nationals. He was also part of the distance medley relay team that took second place.

The Post checked in with Mabena to hear of his experiences first-hand.

“I struggled mentally for the first five months as it was hard being away from home. I struggled physically too. Each day after school, we trained very, very hard. It felt as if my body was shutting down. I did not perform well enough to qualify during my first competition and I was stressed out. I told myself I fought for years to get here, I have to make it work,” Mabena said. “During my third race, I did not feel ready at all. That Friday night I ran the fastest distance medley relay (400 m). The following day I ran the fastest 200 m, qualified for nationals and broke into the school’s top ten performers.”

Running indoors took some getting used to, he said.

Mabena is not only performing on the athletics track. He is studying kinesiology and is part of the academic second team. He was only 0.22% short of being included in the first team. While at school in SA, his academic performance was not strong. What changed?

“I am growing up. I want to have a good backup after athletics. I am not going to be able to be an athlete for the rest of my life, so I need a good education,” he said.

Coming from sunny Limpopo, the weather took some getting used to.

“When I got here, it was really hot. Two months later I was excited to see snow for the first time. The temperatures started dropping below zero and I quickly realised this is extreme weather and I am not used to it, but I have been through hard times in my life and know how to adapt. I’ve gotten used to the temperatures,” he said.

Mabena’s bursary covers most of his expenses, but he has to pay for food and sports gear himself. This is often a challenge. Anyone interested in sponsoring or making a contribution to this young rising star can contact him on tel. 067 877 8820. Watch the video here.