Deng ready for his next challenge

ATHLETICS: The next lesson of Joseph Deng’s athletics education will be to race two top Englishmen in Brisbane before his Commonwealth Games debut.

Kyle Langford, who placed fourth in last year’s world championships 800m final, and Elliot Giles, who was fourth at the world indoor titles last week, have entered the March 28 meet at the State Athletics Facility in Brisbane.

Deng, 19, was selected with an eye to the future as Australia’s discretionary third runner in the 800m at the Commonwealth Games.

Deng and national 800m final runner-up Joshua Ralph are the pick of the Australian entries for the SAF meet, with 800m champion Luke Mathews electing to race in the 1500m instead.

“Joseph’s time (1min45.71sec at the national titles last month) rates him quite highly in terms of 19-year-olds,” Deng’s coach Justin Rinaldi said.

“Last year’s world championships finalists and the 2016 Olympic finalists, when they were 19, were running similar times, if not slower than Joseph is doing now. So he has plenty of upside.”

Deng was born in a refugee camp in Kenya after his mother left South Sudan to get away from a war.

He was aged six when his family moved to Australia, settling in Toowoomba.

Deng moved to Melbourne in January last year to be coached by Rinaldi and 2006 Commonwealth 400m champion John Steffensen was among the fans, quipping on Twitter that he had contracted “Deng fever”.