‘Let me be young’: Lebo Phalula still mixing it with the best

For more than 30 years, two athletes have immersed themselves within the fabric of South African road running, with their careers playing out like shadows of each other.

Twin sisters Diana-Lebo and Lebogang Phalula look so similar, it can be hard to tell which of them you’re speaking to.

And while they are of course different people, both with their own personal lives, it is together that the Phalula sisters have made a real impact.

Just how long they’ve been around was made evident on Saturday when Diana-Lebo (who goes by Lebo these days) finished ninth at the Spar Grand Prix 10km race in Gqeberha, 20 years after winning her first Grand Prix race as a barefoot teenager in 2003.

She crossed the finish line in 33:32 at the weekend, less than two minutes behind 21-year-old Ethiopian Tadu Nare who won the race in 31:35.

‘The right mindset’

“These younger girls are running excellent times, but I want to mix with them because I know if I have the right mindset and tell myself I can stay with them, I’m going to do well,” Lebo said afterwards.

“Age is just a number, and that’s the motto I tell myself every day. Let me forget about the age and be young. I’m not 39. I’m 20.”

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Former track specialists who now focus on the road, the Phalula sisters have won a long list of national titles over a wide range of distances, and both of them have represented South Africa at major international championships.

However, while they remain competitive and will be a force in the veterans (over 40) age group next year, Lebo admits she can’t see herself racing at elite level for too much longer.

Development coaching

Lebo and her partner, Gladwin Mzazi (an accomplished runner himself), coach a group of nearly 30 junior athletes in Soweto along with Lebogang, and it is here where the Phalula siblings see their future involvement in athletics.

“It’s so nice coaching the young athletes and seeing them grow and develop,” says Lebo, who started running with her sister when they were kids.

“Even if I stop racing, I’m still going to be involved and I’m always going to run. It’s something I will do for the rest of my life.”