Mokoka puts his woes behind him
DISTANCE STAR NOW FIT AND FIRING
Having struggled to find his best form in the first half of the year, distance runner Stephen Mokoka is relieved to have bounced back in the build-up to the World Championships in London in August.
Gearing up to compete in the 10 000m event in the English capital, Mokoka shook off recent injury troubles as he stormed to victory at the SA Half-Marathon Championships in Port Elizabeth on Saturday, clocking 1:01:21 to earn his seventh national title over the 21km distance.
“This year started very rough for me, so it shows I’m getting better day by day,” he said.
“My build-up has been good, and as long as I’m healthy in London, it should go well.”
Mokoka finished nine seconds ahead of Elroy Gelant.
Precious Mashele was third overall in the open race in 1:01:56, but he was competing for his club rather than his province and did not qualify for the championship podium.
Eastern Cape athlete Melikhaya Frans snatched the bronze medal in 1:01:58.
The women’s race, meanwhile, was marred by the disqualification of Ethiopian athletes Genet Abdurkadi and Elisabeth Arsedo.
With foreign athletes qualifying for prize money in the mass event, which incorporated the national road running spectacle, Abdurkadi charged to victory in 1:11:45 and Arsedo grabbed second spot in 1:12:20.
Both athletes were scratched from the results, however, because their race numbers were not visible on the back of their vests.
With the top two women removed from the official results following an appeal by the Central Gauteng team, SA’s Cornelia Joubert was promoted from third position to first overall, earning the R50 000 winner’s purse.
Joubert finished the race in a career-best 1:12:31, crossing the line 12 seconds ahead of Mapaseka Makhanya who shattered her personal best by nearly two minutes to grab the silver medal.