By George Koertzen
With Josia Thugwane's finest hour now a distant memory, a move up to the ultra distances is on the cards for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics marathon champion.
Thugwane is considering a possible shot at the Comrades Marathon in 2004.
But at the weekend, the 31-year-old proved he can still mix it with the best over the shorter distance when he won a half-marathon in Pretoria a fair altitude time of 64min 51sec.
In doing so, he qualified to run the Gothenburg 21,1km event on May 17.
Thugwane was delighted with his performance as he is scheduled to run the Nagano Olympic Memorial Marathon on April 20 in Japan.
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In the inaugural race last year he won in just over 2hr 12min.
"At first, we were not sure if Josia could go to Gothenburg," explained Thugwane's manager Dries Lessing.
"But the organisers have now informed me of the date, which will give him roughly four weeks of recovery time between the two races. That should be enough for him to go for a win (in both races).
"But the final decision on whether he runs in Gothenburg or not will be totally dependent on how he does in Japan. Our big goal is to qualify for this year's world championships and next year's Olympics in Athens."
Lessing also disclosed that he'd be asking the sponsors to allow Thugwane's friend and training partner, Collin Khoza, to accompany him to the Swedish event. Khoza was second in the Pretoria race.
"Josia performs really well when he has athletes that he knows around him."
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This article was originally published on page 21 of The Star on February 26, 2003
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