Olympic athlete sentenced for rape
He was provisionally suspended for a doping violation in 2021 but still made that year’s South African Olympic team.
A well-known South African racewalker and Olympic athlete was sentenced to jailtime for rape and assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm in Evander on Thursday.
The 33-year-old Lebong Shange was arrested in 2019 for raping and assaulting a woman in eMbalenhle.
Warrant Officer Erika Schwartz says although the offence happened in eMbalenhle, both the victim and Shange are from Soweto.
The Evander Magistrate’s Court sentenced Shange to 10 years imprisonment for rape and six months for assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Shange won many medals across the world as a South African racewalker. His greatest success was fourth place in the 2017 World Championship.
He became the first African athlete to win a race in the Mexican leg of the International Association of Athletics Federation’s race-walking.
He was provisionally suspended for four years from competing for a doping violation in 2021 after a positive test for trenbolone (anabolic steroid) but was still included in the South African Olympic team that year.
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