Interview with Krige Schabort

By Brooke Edwards

Krige Schabort was an avid surfer growing up in Cape Town, South Africa. He also enjoyed rugby and squash, and become active in the South African military as a young man.

In 1987, during a Cold War battle with Angola, a bomb from a Russian fighter plane hit Schabort. He nearly died, and was saved by an adrenaline shot to his heart. When he woke up days later, he learned that both of his legs and one finger had been amputated.

As a disabled athlete, Schabort broke South African swim records and competed in wheelchair basketball. But it was in his first wheelchair race in 1988 that Schabort found his passion.

Schabort moved to Cedartown, Georgia, with his wife in 1997. Now sponsored by wheelchair manufacturer Invacare, Schabort has repeatedly won the Cleveland, LaSalle Bank Chicago, Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Columbus Marathons, among others. He placed third in the marathon at the 1992 Paralympic Games in Barcelona with a 1:30.23 and second in Sydney in 2000 with a 1:29.28. In 2004, he was accepted into the Honolulu Marathon’s Hall of Fame, after winning for the seventh year in a row.

Schabort has also racked up many 10K victories, and holds the world record for 10 miles with a time of 35:18.

During the 2002 New York City Marathon, Schabort set a new course record with a time of 1:38.27. The next year, he won the race again and broke his own record with a 1:32.19 (since broken).

At 44, Schabort is still a top contender amongst a stacked class of racers for this year’s ING New York City Marathon.

MensRacing.com: When did you do your first marathon?

Krige Schabort: My first marathon was in the central part of South Africa in a town called Welkom. It was the toughest marathon course because I hadn’t been really prepared for it. And I thought, never again. And now I’ve done plenty after that.

MR: I’d say so! You’ve won so many races in your years on the circuit. Is there one victory that stands out?

KS: My first big performance was the bronze medal at the Barcelona Paralympic Games in the marathon. So I would say Barcelona. And I would say that the New York City and Honolulu marathons are my favorite marathons to do. Those three would be my tops.

MR: I read you had some connection with Honolulu with your background in surfing. Is there something about the race in New York that makes it stand out to you?

KS: I don’t know. I think it’s just the good energy and the atmosphere in New York City. And it really is just my favorite city to visit. I’ve been all over the world to London, Beijing, Tokyo, Sydney, and Berlin. You know it’s a really tough marathon but it’s just nice to be there. And I’ve done well there.

MR: You have! I know you set the course record in 2002, beat it in 2003… How are you feeling leading into this race?

KS: I feel good. It’s going to be tough because the young guys are strong and they have a lot of will to win. But I feel good and I’ll just go and do my best and see what happens. I’ve prepared well for it.

MR: You have? How have you been preparing for this race?

KS: Well I’ve focused a little bit more on my hill climbing, of course, with the start that’s a long climb over Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and on the Queensboro Bridge as you come into Manhattan. Both of those are usually two breakaway points during the race. And to some extent sometimes the Pulaski Bridge [which connects Greenpoint, Brooklyn, to Long Island City, Queens] as well, although the Pulaski’s not very steep. But it can hurt you at that time in the race. So I’ve been focusing on the hills. And then I’ve done the [LaSalle Bank] Chicago Marathon to lead up to this and give me a little marathon training. I wanted to do one marathon before New York, so Chicago was the one.

MR: Let’s talk a little about Ernst Van Dyk, who will be at the race [Van Dyk holds the world record of 1:18:27 from the 2004 Boston Marathon]. You are both South African, both sponsored by Invacare, and races often come down to the two of you. Can you talk a little about your relationship with Ernst?

KS: We both are with Invacare. He didn’t have a strong first part of the year but it looks like he’s really in good shape now. He’s in Japan.

And then you get someone like Kurt Fearnley, who won it last year. He’s an excellent, excellent climber and he’s going to have a different strategy from us. He would like to go and leave everyone behind on the first hill. He’s such a good climber. Ernst is a good climber, but we are also very good downhilllers and that’s Kurt’s weak point in the game.

So you know it will all play out on the day of the race. And if it works out that Ernst and I are together after the Bridge, we’ll have a good race. I know we’ll have a good race.

MR: I know last year wasn’t your best time. Can you talk a little about what happened there?

KS: Well, last year I was in a good position for either second or third. Of course, Saul Mendoza, from Mexico, and I were together. And it was I think at mile 20 going into Harlem and I had a flat tire on the bridge. It was towards the end of the race, and I really had a battle to fix the flat tire. I lost a lot of time there. It’s just one of those things that happens. And I saw it coming. It was the steel grid on the bridge. My back wheel went into a gap or opening. It just went in there and right away I knew it was bad.

MR: What about one that you still haven’t captured yet? Is there a race that you haven’t won that you still hope to add to your list of victories?

KS: Yeah, yeah, definitely [laughs]. Boston Marathon. I think six times I’ve been second in Boston. So that’s one race that I’ve always been close but never won it. I’ve lost a good race there to three different athletes. It was to Ernst, then to a Swiss athlete Franz Nietlispach, and this year it was to Masazumi Soejima from Japan. And I believe Masazumi will be in New York as well. They say he’s a very good athlete. He’ll be a guy to watch as well for us.

MR: Even though you came in second, does your finish of 1:26.04 from the Boston Marathon in 2002 still stand as your personal best?

KS: Yes, that’s right.

MR: I read in an interview from 2004 that you were planning to slow down and not travel so much. Have you done that? It seems like you’re still racing as much as ever.

KS: No, I’m still racing a lot. You know I’m still enjoying it and while I’m still healthy and in good shape, I will go for it. If I really feel it’s not worth it for me to do it anymore, I will stop. But as long as I can be competitive I will go on—mainly in the U.S., anyways—and race as much as I can. I have to think about other things as well, though. But my wife supports me well with the racing. And she really enjoys traveling together. She’ll be going with me this trip. So we’ll see how it goes. If I stay healthy, I’ll go more.

MR: Speaking of your family, are either of your sons interested in becoming racers like their dad? Are they into athletics at all?

KS: Oh yes, yes. I mean they’re only 5 and 3, but they are terribly competitive. They’re always in a race. And I always have to try and keep them apart from each other when they go on their bicycles or on my wheelchair. Because always one is racing the other and then one has to be second. And then there’s a big dilemma because of course the losing one always cries. So I try not to motivate them to race all the time. I just try to say, “Let’s just go for an easy ride. We’re just going to go for an easy ride.” But yeah, they are competitive little boys. They’re fun.

MR: Do you get a chance to visit your native South Africa often? Have you taken your sons there?

KS: Yeah, I’ve gone back to South Africa, I would say, within the last two years. February and March is a good time to visit the family and everyone. But our life here is long-term for now. Our boys were born here. They’re American. And we can apply for citizenship here by the end of this year. That’s the good thing about having a green card and being able to do that. But we might go back next year to visit family again, before the boys go to school. Once they start school it will be a little more tied up with our time here.

MR: And I know years ago in South Africa you were manufacturing wheelchairs. Is that something you are still involved with?

KS: No, no. I am only a stay-at-home dad with my two boys. We sold the company a good couple years ago. It’s still going in South Africa, but I don’t have any more ties with the company.

MR: What type of chair are you racing in now?

KS: I’m racing in a top-end racing chair from Invacare. It’s definitely the best, for me anyway. I’ve been with them eight years now and they’ve been treating me really well. I’ve got a new chair that is really nice. I just got it two months ago. And I’ve had some good success with it and I feel really comfortable and confident pushing it as hard as I can, basically. So I don’t think I’m going to change anything right now.

MR: And you’re still training to go to Beijing next year as well?

KS: You know when you have children, two boys—especially because I’m at home with them—to be away from home that long with my wife as a fulltime occupational therapist… It’s hard to say now. I cannot say yes. But if circumstances change in a way that it looks like it will work out well for me to race and for my family, we are open if it comes to that. But, no decisions yet.

MR: I see. Well, congratulations on the fact that you were nominated this year for an ESPY [ESPN’s Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards ] award [for best Male Athlete with a Disability]. Did that come as a big surprise? How did that feel?

KS: Yes, yes, it was quite amazing. It was really something. You know for three days you’re in Hollywood and you’re treated like a star. It’s more like a celebrity star than you’re your regular athlete. It really was a wonderful experience. It was something that I will never forget. And it gives you a little bit of a feeling of how the stars and celebrities live their lives and how they experience it. But I just did it a couple of days and they have it 24/7, 365 days a year. But it was fun and it was a great honor.

MR: We wish you the best of luck in New York.

KS: Thank you.

Interview conducted October 23, 2007, and posted October 29, 2007.