SHANGE SMASHES SA 20KM RECORD

Lebogang Shange shattered his own national record on Sunday, taking second place in the men’s 20km walk at the Oceania Race Walking Championships in Adelaide.
The 25-year-old athlete clocked 1:20:06 to chop one minute, 37 seconds off the SA mark of 1:21:43 he set when finishing 11th at last year’s IAAF World Championships in Beijing.
Compatriot Wayne Snyman also displayed fine form, on the back of a lengthy training camp in Australia, setting a personal best of 1:21:45 in eighth place.
Snyman, who broke the national 3 000m mark on the track in Brisbane two weeks ago (11:10:03), chopped nearly two minutes off his previous 20km career best set in Stellenbosch last season.
Ultra-distance specialist Marc Mundell crossed the line in 13th position in 1:27:08.
All three SA athletes have now achieved the qualifying standards for walking events at the Rio Olympics.
World Student Games champion Dane Bird-Smith of Australia won the race in 1:20:04, with World Championships bronze medallist Benjamin Thorne of Canada securing third spot behind Shange in 1:20:08.