Maseru, Feb. 28 — Tebello Ramakongoana (27) who hails from Ha Mohlapiso in the Qacha’s Nek district has smashed the seven year old national record in marathon after running 2:08:09 at the Osaka City marathon in Japan last Sunday.
Ramakongoana told the Agency on Wednesday that he should have ran a faster time has it not due to unfavourable weather conditions in Japan where it is currently in the middle of winter, saying it was cold and raining as well.
‘The weather was not good at all as it was cold in Japan as it is winter season and it was windy and raining’ he commented.
He said many athletes dropped out of the race due to this unfavourable weather conditions, but he had to soldier on under those trying times.
Ramakongoana said his ultimate goal is to set the new marathon national record of at least 2: 05, saying that is possible if his plans go well.
However, he said he was happy to have set the new national record, saying age was still on his side to break new records in marathons.
He told the agency that since no athlete in any sporting code has managed to bring a silverware from the Olympic Games before, his immediate plan is to win a medal from the Paris Olympic Games set for July and August this year.
A married man with a one year and five months old, Ramakongoana said he is now waiting to acquire a visa before he flies out to the United States of America (USA) where he is scheduled to join his coach so that he could train there ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
“He (Coach) wants me to go and train closer to him so that we could see if we will not come up with something special ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games,” he commented.
On the other hand Motlokoa (39) who held this national record for seven years commented Ramakongoana for having broken his long national record, saying this shows that there is a lot of talent in the country that only needs to be moulded and natured.
He advised Ramakongoana to focus on overseas races more than running South African races since there are many opportunities there.
Motlokoa said running overseas races comes with benefits like competing against the best marathon runners which he said was a challenge on its own that could get the best out of an athlete.
He also said overseas races are rated higher than those in nearby countries as they bring internationally acclaimed athletes across the globe.
Speaking about himself, Motlokoa said he has never given up on improving his time but that the only challenge was lack of support and sponsorships.
He said age was nothing but a number, saying the only determining factor was discipline.
Motlokoa is now preparing to run the Durban City marathon in April this year, now that he is out of contention for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games due to limited time.
If Ramakongoana could claim a medal from this year’s Paris Olympic Games, he will be the first Mosotho ever to have achieved that milestone since Lesotho took part in the Olympic Games in 1972 Munich, in Germany.
The late Motsapi Moorosi was the first Mosotho athlete to hoist the national flag at the Olympic Games in Munich, Germany.