Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 121, August 2019 | Page 62

TRACK & FIELD
Confidence of a
World Champ
The next generation of distance runners in South Africa is knocking
on the door of superstardom, with Mokefane Milton Kekana one
of the athletes at the forefront of this group – and having recently
won his first global title, he is brimming with confidence.
– BY MANFRED SEIDLER
S
outh Africa has a history of delivering middle
and long distance medals at the World
University Games (WUG). Stephen Mokoka has
won four medals at the global showpiece – he was
10,000m champion in 2013, earned silver medals in
the 10,000m 2011 and the Half Marathon in 2013, and
also brought home a bronze medal in the 10,000m in
2007. Gladwin Mzazi won gold in the 10,000m in 2009
as well as the Half Marathon in 2013. Both went on
to successful running careers after their university-
level exploits, with Stephen currently ranked as South
Africa’s best middle and long distance athlete, and
recently racking up his third consecutive and sixth
overall SA Half Marathon title on 27 July.
It is therefore not the least bit surprising that the latest
distance talent to come to the fore in SA university
athletics, 23-year-old Mokofane Milton Kekana, cites
Stephen as his biggest inspiration. “He makes me
believe I can do it,” says the second-year Tshwane
University of Technology (TUT) student. “Stephen
is such a hard worker, and always focused. He has
taught me a lot.”
Global Title
In July, Milton added yet another WUG 10,000m title
to South Africa’s list of athletic honours, when he
clocked 29:19.43 to grab the gold medal at the 2019
World University Games in Naples. However, he had
to pull out all the stops in a sprint finish to claim the
62
In the end, just 18/100ths of a second separated
Milton and Hiroke on the line, a time difference one
sees more in sprinting than in middle distance races,
with Adrian claiming the bronze medal. “It was a
good win for me. It shows that I am on track for
what I want to achieve, and winning hard races is
good for the confidence,” says a beaming Milton. In
fact, many would argue his confidence and mature
approach to racing was the reason for winning the title
in his second WUG appearance, having previously
represented SA at the 2017 Games, where he finished
seventh in the 10,000m and fifth in the Half Marathon.
This year, he also competed in the WUG Half
Marathon, finishing 16th while clearly running on tired
legs after his heroics on the track. Evidence of the
fact that he was not at his best in the WUG 21km is
that he came back to SA and smashed his previous
personal best of 63:07 at the recent Nelson Mandela
Bay Half Marathon, finishing ninth overall and eighth
South African in the SA Champs race with a massive
improvement of 62:16.
Coaching Set-up
Milton is coached by former SA 400m co-record
holder and one of South Africa’s best ever 800m
athletes, Hendrick Mokganyetsi. The 43-year-old is
perhaps an odd choice as a coach for a 10,000m and
half marathon specialist, given that he is better known
for his short distance racing, boasting a 400m best of
ISSUE 121 AUGUST 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za
44.59 and 800m best of 1:44.62. Hendrick was also
a member of the SA 4x400m relay team that won the
bronze medal at the 1999 IAAF World Champs, and
he finished sixth in the 400m at the 2000 Olympic
Games.
This athlete-coach relationship is clearly working,
though, judging by the results Milton has been posting
this year. “He is the head coach at TUT, so it just
happened. It is a bit strange, because he has never
raced further than 800m, but it is working for us, so
we stick with it,” says Milton, who is studying at TUT
in the North of Pretoria on an athletics scholarship.
title from Japanese athlete Hiroke Abe,
after running with South African team
mate Adrian Wildschutt for much of the
race. “I hung back with Adrian and only
made a move in the last 500m or so,
but it was a hard win. That Japanese
runner just wouldn’t let go,” he says.