Rider Mantle on her way up mountain trails
Calistus Kolantsho | Friday November 20, 2020 16:23
One of Botswana’s rising MTB riders is 13-year-old Myra Wame Mantle, who despite her age has confronted the challenges of the rough terrain head on.
Mantle’s mother is a renowned cyclist and it probably was only natural that she followed in her parent’s footsteps.
“I had interest in cycling from a tender age because of my mother, who is a cyclist and I used to tag along when she went cycling. So as I grew older, it was easy for me to become a cyclist because it was something that I knew and I did not struggle to fit into,” the Selebi-Phikwe-born rider said.
Mmegi Sport recently witnessed Mantle dominating the 20km race during the Cycle4Life MTB club race that was held at Matebeleng. She finished her race in 58.06 hitting her top speed of 20.66km/hour.
Mantle started competing at the age of eight over a five-kilometre stretch. She said as time went by, she raised the bar and joined longer races and to her that was an achievement.
“I enjoy MTB, especially cross country more than road race because it is more thrilling and adventurous. When I am out there, I enjoy the twisting and challenging terrain,” she said.
Mantle is a member of the Cycle4Life club. Her highlights were when she rode and completed a 60km race in 2016.
She said it was a big achievement for her because it was her debut 60km. Mantle also scooped second position in an MTB championship in South Africa.
“To win (silver) in South Africa is an accomplishment. Just like any other cyclist, there are some challenges that I deal with such as not having enough training time. I must plan carefully because I also have to focus on my schoolwork. However, I always try my level best to make sure that none of them suffers at the expense of the other,” Mantle said.
Mantle did her primary education at Thornhill Primary School, before proceeding to Westwood International School. The talented cyclist is yet to wear the national team colours. Despite that, she feels that competing in South Africa in a way, she was representing her country.
“All along I have not been getting enough competition locally because there were not many girls who were interested in cycling. Of late, it seems like some of them are coming on board. These are exciting times for me because they would push me,” she said.
Mantle said cycling is an expensive sport, especially when it comes to bicycle maintenance and that there is no financial support from government when she competes either locally or internationally.
However, Mantle said she has support from her parents but it is unfortunate other cyclists are not so lucky. Her mother, Gobona Mantle raised concern that Mantle’s performance has gone down compared to before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
“She still wins in her category but her average (speed) has declined. I have been taking her out on the tracks once a week so that she could regain her strength and perform to her level best,” Gobona said.
Gobona added Mantle used to be alone in her category and of late a few other girls are coming up. She said competition is a motivation because she expects her daughter to work hard in order to stay on top.
“She might seem like a town girl, but during holidays she visits her cousins in Bobonong and spends quality time with them,” the proud mother said.
FACT FILE
Full names: Myra Wame Mantle
Date of birth: January 26, 2007
Place of birth: Selebi-Phikwe
Sport: Cycling (MTB)
Club: Cycle4Life
Career highlights: Riding 60km at nine years in 2016, finishing second at the South Africa MTB challenge,
Hobbies: Reading (Current reads: The Book of Dust by Phillip, Pullman and Solitaire by Alice Oseman)
Favourite dish: Noodles