Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 165 February 2024 | Page 23

ROAD RUNNING press conference in Johannesburg on the great man ’ s 39th birthday , 31 January , complete with a surprise birthday cake and all the attending media singing Happy Birthday for him !

Dreaming of Paris

Mokoka is set to participate in his fourth Olympic Games this year , having secured his spot in the marathon with an impressive qualifying time of 2:06:42 at the Lake Biwa Marathon in Japan last year . Early this year , he started his 2024 campaign with a solid 2:12:58 to secure second place at the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon , and he says , “ It ’ s a busy year , an Olympic year , so I started early by running a marathon in January .”

“ I can say that before I signed on the dotted line , I went through my programme for the year , and I ’ m grateful that the Hollywood Athletics Club Elite Manager , Manfred Seidler , said that he had a plan that would work for me . I ’ m very happy that he has not put a lot of races on my programme , because he and the club understand the value of the Olympics , and they also understand the value of the international marathon that I just did , even though it was before I signed . I ’ m very grateful that they have considered all of that ,” says Mokoka .

It ’ s no surprise that the Paris Olympics are Mokoka ’ s main focus for the year , and he says he is really hopeful that he can do well in the marathon , which takes place on 10 August . This will be his third Olympics , having competed in the marathon in 2012 ( finished 49th ) and 2021 ( dropped out around 30km ), and the 10,000m in 2016 ( finished 18th ). “ I hope that this time around , the Olympic year will be different for me , because for the last Olympics , in Japan , I had to prepare in cold conditions , and I just couldn ’ t cope with the heat and humidity in Japan . That ’ s why I also mentioned to the team manager that I want to go abroad to prepare for the Olympics , and he said , that ’ s a tough one , but it ’ s possible , and he would put in a word for me with his bosses ,” says Mokoka .

Zyl , cementing the club ’ s commitment to competing at the highest level in the country . As Club President , Morgan Shandu , says , “ Stephen Mokoka joining our club is part of a greater vision to establish ourselves as a household name nationwide . His wealth of experience will undoubtedly benefit all members of the club .” Echoing this sentiment is Club Manager Manfred Seidler , who adds , “ Stephen not only brings a pedigree of professionalism on the road , but his meticulous approach to racing will be beneficial for the club . We ’ re looking forward to an exciting and successful season with him on board .”

Incredible Versatility

Regardless of what he does in Paris , Mokoka will go down in history as one of South Africa ’ s all-time best middle and long distance athletes . In a career spanning almost 20 years , he has won 30 National Titles on all surfaces ( track , road and cross country , from 1500m to the marathon ), currently holds the SA Record for the half marathon ( 59:36 ), and briefly also held the World , African and SA Records for 50km ( 2:40:13 ). His 2:08:31 to win the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon ( and SA Marathon Championships title ) in 2018 is still the fastest time by a South African on home soil .

Mokoka has represented his country on the world stage on 36 occasions , claiming a gold medal in the 10,000m at the 2013 World Student Games ( Universiade ), posting a World Championships careerhigh fifth place in the marathon in Doha in 2019 , and his 15th place finish at the World Champs in 2011 has only been matched by one other South African , the great Shadrack Hoff , in Stellenbosch in 1996 .

In the early years of his career , Mokoka was better known as a 5000m / 10,000m athlete on the track , going on to win the SA 5000m title four times and the 10,000m title eight times , but in 2010 he also stunned the South

African middle-distance fraternity by winning the 1500m title , to go with the second of those eight 10,000m titles . His devastating kick simply left the best of the country ’ s 1500m athletes in his wake !

King of the SA Roads

Since he made the transition to road running , Mokoka has been the undisputed flagbearer of South African running . Until Thabang Mosiako ’ s sub-60 last year , he was the only South African to have broken 60 minutes in the half marathon on a legal ( non-aided ) course , when he ran 59:51 in Buenos Aires in 2019 , before bettering that to the SA Record 59:36 in 2020 . Mokoka has finished in the top 10 at the World Half Marathon Championships three times , and in 2023 he won his first ever World Championship medal when he anchored the South African Team to third place in the team competition of the men ’ s half marathon at the World Road Running Championships in Riga , Latvia .

His marathon debut came in 2010 , when he finished fourth in the Seoul Marathon in 2:08.33 . Since then , in 20 marathon starts , Mokoka has finished on the podium in 14 of those races , including four wins in the Shanghai Marathon ( runner-up twice as well ), and three wins in the Cape Town Marathon ( runner-up once as well ). He has dipped under 2:10 nine times in his career , and set his PB of 2:06:42 in Osaka , Japan in February 2023 , followed by a 2:11:33 for second place in the 2023 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon last October , and then 2:12:58 for second in Hong Kong this January .

This bodes well for Paris in August , as Mokoka clearly still has a lot of racing in his 39-year-old legs , especially given that he has always been an athlete who races sparingly , saving his legs for the big races . This strategic and measured approach to racing , coupled with his prodigious talent and versatility , has meant that Mokoka has long held the mantle of South Africa ’ s top road runner , and has become without doubt the senior statesman of South African road running . And now he will be racing in purple , too !

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