Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 126, January 2020 | Page 11

L
ooking back at 2019, one could easily say that
it was Lesego Stephen Mokoka’s best year yet
on the roads. After all, he ran his second-best
marathon time ever, a 2:07:58 in Lake Biwa, Japan
in March, posting the 11th-best time ever by a South
African). Then in August, he became the first South
African to break 60 minutes for the half marathon (on
a record-legal course) when he clocked the new SA
Record of 59:50 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
“We all know that you really only have two good
marathons in your body in a year, and because I earn
a living off running, I need to run selectively in 2020.
I love representing my country, but also have to be
realistic... If I run the Olympics, it is a big financial
sacrifice. I have a family that I need to support, so it all
depends on what SASCOC comes back with whether
I will do the Games.”
If Stephen does not run in the Olympics, he will
definitely line up in an international marathon around
September. While that must still be confirmed, he has
already planned the first half of his year. Crucially, he
says he will be racing less than in 2019. “I want to
do the RAK* on 21 February, return to Lake Biwa in
March, and then do the SA 10km Championships in
Durban in July.** Then it depends on SASCOC if I do
the Olympics or another marathon. I will also look at
an international half marathon in the second half of
the year, but I will only be racing five times this year.”
More was to come. At the beginning of October, he
finished fifth in the World Championships Marathon
in Doha, Qatar, becoming the best ever SA performer
in this World Champs event. Later that same month,
he clocked 28:12 to win the FNB Durban 10K
CITYSURFRUN, a race that always attracts top
international competition and produces world class
times. However, when asked what he thinks of the
year, he immediately downplays it. “Nah, I didn’t really
do anything in 2019. The SA Half Marathon record
was soft, and I could have won, or at the very least
podiumed in Doha, so the best is yet to come!” says
Stephen.
After Doha and Durban, Stephen took six weeks off
and has only recently returned to training, but already
the 34-year-old is showing excellent form. “I’ve come
back very quickly, though. I have been putting in
mileage for Lake Biwa and I am in the best shape of
my life for this time of the year.” As part of this, he
recently ran a 40km long run in 2:23. “That is three
minutes off my best ever time in a long training run,
and all I have done is log miles. That makes me very
excited.”
Pedigree of Note
Stephen, or Tsipe as he is also known, has an
incredible running pedigree that often goes unfairly
overlooked when talk turns to the country’s greatest
athletes – even though he holds a total of 30 national
titles, ranging from the 1500m all the way to the
marathon. This includes winning the 10,000m title a
remarkable nine times, with his ninth win, in 2018,
equalling the amount of most national 10,000m titles
won by a South African, formerly held solely by the
legendary Xolile Yawa.
CITYSURFRUN.
Chasing Records
Winning the Sanlam
Cape Town Marathon
four times, bearing in mind that these races always
take place within two days. He also owns eight SA
Half Marathon titles, four SA Cross Country titles, and
he won the SA Marathon Championships in 2018 at
the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon. This marathon win
also qualifies as an international victory, even though
run on home soil, as the race holds World Athletics
(former IAAF) Gold Label status. His four other
international marathon wins all came in Shanghai,
China. And let’s not forget that he also currently owns
the SA 10km record (27:38, run in Manchester, UK in
2015) to go with his Half Marathon record.
Racing Selectively
Of course, 2020 is an Olympic year and all eyes will
be on Tokyo, where the athletics programme will run
from 31 July to 9 August, with the marathon on the
final day. It is almost a given that Stephen will be in
the SA marathon team, but he says certain elements
need to be in place. “This could be my last Olympics,
because I am 34 and only have so much time left in
my legs as an athlete.”
As mentioned, Stephen owns two SA records on the
road – and he formerly held the 5000m record on the
track, after clocking 13:11.44 at the 2015 SA Champs
– but says he feels he has unfinished business there.
“The half marathon record is soft, so I want to see if I
can better it at RAK. If not, then I will see if I can race
in Prague in May, because I want to bring it down to
59:20, or even lower.” He also gets a determined look
on his face when shown the SA Marathon all-time
performance list, where he is currently the fifth-ranked
South African. “I know this list... and it needs to
change,” he says simply.
In fact, he makes no secret of wanting that SA
Marathon record. “I need that time,” he says, but
when probed about a possible record attempt to go
after the 2:06:33 record set by Gert Thys in Tokyo in
1999, he remains secretive. He just smiles broadly
when asked if he has any plans in place...
That 10km record of 27:38 is also potentially in
danger in 2020. Stephen will once again be racing
the SA 10km Championships, which this year will be
incorporated into the FNB Durban 10K on 12 July. As
a World Athletics Bronze Label Race, this race brings
some of the best international athletes to SA – most
Furthermore, Stephen has won the 5000m title four
times, each time in the process of doing the prized
5000m/10,000m double at SA Champs a remarkable
* Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon in the United Arab Emirates.
** The SA Champs will be run as part of the FNB Durban 10K
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