Lesetedi’s bold for gold goal
GORDON Lesetedi is looking for an early birthday present in the form of a top 10 finish in the Comrades Marathon in two weeks’ time.
Lesetedi turns 32 on June 29 and winning his first gold medal at the Ultimate Human Race will beat any other gift he will receive on his special day.
“God willing, I’ll be there in the top 10,” Lesetedi says. “That’s my goal. And since my results last year, my confidence is high.”
Lesetedi, from Sekhing village in Taung, North West, finished 25th in the down run won by his Tomtom Athletic teammate David Gatebe in record time.
He only just dipped below the six-hour mark to win the coveted Wally Hayward medal to add to his two silvers from previous races.
“Being in the same camp with David and Gift (Kelehe, the reigning up-run champion) is very encouraging. These guys are champions and they were prepared for it by John (Hamlett) so there’s evidence that his methods work and I’d love for them to work for me too.”
All he needs do, he believes, is follow the instructions of Comrades “kingmaker” Hamlett and his dreams will come true. He does, after all, have the talent, something he discovered early in his life.
“I used to love playing football, but during athletic season I ran for my school and always did well. My high school teacher, MR Mojapelo, told me that I had great stamina and encouraged me to take up running seriously.” Soon he was representing his school in inter-school competitions, at district level as well as provincial level.
“I missed out on going to nationals because we couldn’t afford it.”
That, though, didn’t dispirit a young Lesetedi. After all, he had a role model not too far off in the form of Gift Kelehe’s brother Andrew.
“Gift and Andrew are from our area, from Mafikeng. And when we were at school Andrew used to come and motivate us and once he told me to decide whether I needed to play soccer or to run. We had seen him win Comrades (in 2001) and I knew there and then that I wanted to follow in his footsteps.”
It might take a little longer before Lesetedi captures the ultimate glory in local road-running, but there can be no denying he has what it takes to get there one day. The two silver medals and the Wally Hayward one he won at Comrades say that much.
Besides his good Comrades record though, Lesetedi has showcased his talent in other races.
He completed his maiden Soweto Marathon in an impressive two hours and 40 minutes and has triumphs at both the Groot Marico and Secunda Marathons.
Ahead of this year’s Comrades, Lesetedi and his teammates have not done any serious competitive running as they focused on the KZN ultra. “I’ve only run Delloitte in Pretoria and used the Irene Ultra just for training. It is all about Comrades this year, that’s the focus. And the goal is to finish in the top 10. One thing we know for sure is that the winner will come from here (within their camp).”