Mathibelle’s Olympic dream in the balance

MASERU-The Olympic dreams of Lesotho distance runner Tšepo Mathibelle are hanging in the balance.
With the Tokyo Japan Games just three months away, Mathibelle is in the dark over whether the Gaborone Marathon he was hoping to use to qualify will go ahead.

The marathon usually takes place in May but is on hold because Botswana is under a national lockdown with sport prohibited.
If the race doesn’t happen it will be another devastating blow in a year that has been filled with them because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In 2012 countryman Jobo Khathoane used the Gaborone Marathon to qualify for the Olympic Games and Mathibelle, a two-time Olympian, was hoping for the same.

Mathibelle hasn’t run in two years and, with just over 100 days to go, chances to make it to the Olympics are running out.
The Gaborone meet is one of the few official Olympic qualifying events left for the Japan Games that were originally scheduled to take place in 2020 but were postponed to this year due to the coronavirus.

“I think we last ran in 2019, there were races we had already registered for (when the pandemic hit), for me the Botswana Marathon was a race I was looking to qualify (with),” Mathibelle said.
The 29 year-old had also planned to compete in a slate of races in the lead-up to the Olympics but events have been cancelled left, right and centre all across the region.

“(The Gaborone Marathon) is the race I usually qualify from so I was looking at it, when I speak with them they say the race will still continue, I don’t know because its lockdown in Botswana and sport is prohibited,” Mathibelle said, and as the days go by, the seasoned marathon runner is slowly beginning to believe his Olympic dreams may be over.
Like all athletes the past year has been difficult for Mathibelle who is looking to make a third Olympic Games after competing at London 2012 and Rio 2016.

Even in the best of times athletes often struggle to piece together a living with almost all their income coming from prize money, stipends and sponsorships.
With no competitions to attend, it means no money is coming in for Mathibelle because both he and his wife depend on their running careers to survive and support their extended families.
The disruption caused by the coronavirus has made it a nightmare for Mathibelle to take care of his kids and extended family as the main bread winner.

“I only know running, I have been running my entire life, all my successes and things I have done and achieved are through running,” Mathibelle said.
“Life has become difficult for us, we have a young child who needs financial care, if a child gets sick there must be money to help,” he added.
“My sister’s kid, whom we have been helping with school fees, is doing Form E now. I don’t know what we are going to do. I am left with one parent, I am taking care of her, and she was once hit by a car so she is not able to work or do anything heavy. They are all my kids now and with nothing coming in its difficult,” he said.

Mathibelle’s anxiousness over the Gaborone Marathon is worsened by uncertainty over whether he will be refunded for the monies he paid to enter other competitions that were cancelled because of COVID-19.
For example, the Two Oceans marathon refused to refund athletes last April when the race was cancelled saying it also suffered a loss.

Mathibelle is also totally in the dark about any activities that may be coming up because the Lesotho Amateur Athletics Association (LAAA), which elected a new executive committee just last month, still hasn’t released an events calendar for athletes.
So far only one Lesotho athlete, Khoarahlane Seutloali, has booked his ticket to Tokyo Olympics.
He qualified in 2019.

The Gaborone Marathon has been a happy hunting ground for Lesotho with Masilo Matjiane having won the race in 2014 and Ramolefi Motsieloa in 2019.
Given Mathibelle’s experience and the country’s past success at the Botswana Marathon, the virus may have just denied Lesotho another spot in this year’s Olympics.

Tlalane Phahla