As ready as ever
Rome’s Krige Schabort is in final preparations for the 2016 Paralympics.
Rome’s Krige Schabort is in final preparations for the 2016 Paralympics.
While talking to the crowd at a pep rally at Johnson Elementary School, the excitement on Krige Schabort’s face was apparent.
And considering the summer the Rome resident has had leading up to his sixth Paralympiad, that excitement is more than warranted.
Schabort heads to Rio de Janeiro after some impressive international competitions in recent months, and his training has certainly shaped up well. The man who will represent the country and Northwest Georgia at the 2016 Paralympics next week has a real chance to compete.
“My training has been excellent headed into the games, and I feel like I am ready to go,” Schabort said. “It’ll slow down as I near my trip to Rio, but I am excited with where I am physically and I hope to do well.”
It’s been quite the journey for Schabort, who first made a splash in the 1992 Paralympic Games in Barcelona with a bronze in the marathon. In the last 24 years, Schabort eventually changed nations from his native South Africa to the U.S., and now he looks to complete his transition to the paratriathlon.
The event consists of a 750-meter swim, a 20-kilometer bike or handcycle, and a 5K run or wheelchair race.
That transition has worked out, evident in Schabort’s silver medal finish at the ITU Paratriathlon World Championship event last month. He finished less than two minutes behind Dutch racer Jetze Plat, who was racing in his home nation.
Schabort, who is one of the top wheelchair athletes on the international stage, said he’s made some adjustments with his equipment since the race, hoping to bring down a few seconds, but his main goal headed into the Sept. 10 race in Rio is to stay in the moment and let his hard work pay off.
“I don’t need to be in front of myself during the race,” Schabort said. “I need to remain in the moment and use the ability that I have. And all that hard work that’s behind me is going to be climbing that mountain.”
Schabort also took first place in the Masters group of the wheelchair division in the Peachtree Road Race in July.
All of these constant races and competitions have never worn on Schabort, who will celebrate his 53rd birthday the day before his race in Rio. On the contrary, he thirsts for the chance to compete, a feeling he believes is inside most Paralympians he has competed against.
“That’s what drives me, is the competition. The training is nice but it can get boring,” Schabort said. “The training is hard, too. Once you get to the race that’s the fun part. It’s just so fun to go out against those guys who have also been training and getting himself ready.”
Before the Olympic Games, which concluded just over a week ago, there was a fair amount of controversy surrounding the ability of Rio de Janeiro to host the games, whether it was the crime rates or the cases of Zika virus in the country. But from what Schabort has heard, the setting for American athletes was fairly good.
Schabort pointed out that the Olympic Village in particular has been very amenable in years past, including accessibility. He expects little to be different this time around.
He also gets to be part of history, as this is the first year the paratriathlon is part of the Paralympics. Schabort said he is honored to be part of the first group to compete, and he knows the feeling will be with him for years.
“I race against the same guys I raced against in the World Championships last month, but this is just a higher stage,” Schabort said. “So that means you have to dig a little deeper, you have to push a little harder.”