Skaters Prepare for South African Inline Speed Championships

Hard work will get you places, no matter where you live or what background you originate from. Read about these three young guys as they prepare for the South African Inline Speed Skating Championships. We wish you all the best luck.

Skaters get in line for speed

March 23 2012 at 12:45pm

By Nosipho Luthuli

Training five days a week, two hours a day; a strict diet; and a township traffic circle for a practice track.

These are just some of the ingredients in an adrenalin-charged formula that has helped three Lamontville lads earn a place in the South African inline speed skating championships.

Andile Duku, 24, Nkosinathi Mzimela, 21, and Sabelo Radebe, 13, have been putting in the hard yards, honing their speed skating skills for the event, which starts at the end of the month, at Sun City.

Duku said: “We don’t have the proper facilities to train. We always train at the ring (traffic circle) here in Glebelands. Cars and pedestrians are on the road. It’s not always easy but we love the sport.”

Often with just a couple of goats looking on while they graze, the three have been building up their stamina, with jogging and hour-long, non-stop skating sessions, including sprints.

Duku said: “I’m excited about the championships. It’s my second time going but it always feels like the first.” Duku has been skating since 2002. He took up the sport in Port Elizabeth, where he lived at the time, and after he came to Durban in 2008, he established his own club, Lamontville Roller Skating.

After seeing the club grow, Mzimela joined in 2011 and Sabelo at the beginning of this year.

Duku and Mzimela will participate in four categories, 300m, 500m, 1km and 42km for over 17s, and Sabelo in the beginners’ section for under 15s.

Picture: Andile Duku, 24, and Sabelo Radebe, 13, in Glebelands, near Isipingo, prepare for the South African inline speed skating championships that will take place at Sun City from March 30 to April 1. Picture: Zanele Zulu. Taken by Zanele Zulu

source: http://www.iol.co.za/dailynews/news/skaters-get-in-line-for-speed-1.1262709