LEADING female long-distance runner ’Neheng Khatala Seutloali has become the second local athlete to book a spot at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics in Japan, after she won the Retail Capital Langa Marathon in Cape Town, South Africa on Sunday.

She clocked in 2:28:06, setting her new national record in the senior female category.

Her husband Khoarahlane Seutloali was the first local athlete to qualify for the global show piece, after finishing fifth in 2:11:04 at the 2020 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, an International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Gold Level event.   

The Retail Capital Langa Marathon Challenge was not organised for commercial gain but was meant to give athletes from South Africa and other parts of the world the last opportunity to qualify for the Olympic Games.  

A total of 90 runners and 10 pacers, in both men and women categories participated in the race.   

Metro’s efforts to reach Khatala Seutloali were unsuccessful because her phone was unavailable.

But the Secretary General of the Federation of Athletics Lesotho (FAL) Makara Thibinyane said it was always their dream to have more athletes qualify for the Olympic Games.

“Only track and field events athletes still have a chance to battle for qualification,” he said.

Thibinyane said FAL is hosting the national championships on June 13 as it had to postpone the event from May 29 to June 13 due to financial problems.

He said the association has requested the Lesotho National Olympic Committee (LNOC) to hire track timing systems that will be used during the event.

There will be other track and field events taking place in South Africa until June 8 so as to create a broader room for the athletes to qualify.

“We also have other Olympic qualification events – like the Senior African Championships which three of our athletes including Badboy Toka, Mojela Koneshe and Lerato Sechele have already qualified for,” Thibinyane also said.