Mafura welcomes triumphant athletes

MASERU  – THE Minister of Sports Kabelo Mafura yesterday welcomed the team of athletes that represented Lesotho at the Soweto Marathon over the weekend in South Africa.
Olympian Tšepo Mathibelle won the prestigious race and brought home a gold medal while three other runners managed to finish inside the top 10 bracket.

]Mafura said his ministry is working towards professionalising athletics in the country so that athletes can make a living from their talent. Even though he could not give a timeframe for this vision, Mafura he said in the next three years some of the country’s athletes would be competing as professionals.

He said the government has been focused on amateur athletics which has come at the expense of athletes considered professionals but the minister said that is going to end. Mafura said the roadmap to professional athletics will continue even after he leaves office.
“In our country we do not have experts that can train our athletes so we will look for businessmen who will establish camps for athletes with qualified trainers,” Mafura said. “We competed with various countries over the weekend and to come out on top reflects hard work. We are very proud of this team,” he added.

Nkheli Liphoto