It’s been a long, hard slog to get to a second Olympic Games, but now Stephen Mokoka can’t wait to get to Rio next month.
And his final preparations for the 10 000m in Brazil begins on Saturday when he will do the 5 000m at the London Diamond League at the 2012 Olympic Stadium.
The 31-year-old Mokoka will come up against current British Olympic and world champion Mo Farah in what is a stellar field, including American veteran Bernard Lagat and Kenyans Isiah Koech, Edwin Soi and Bethwell Birgen.
Mokoka actually won the 5 000m and 10 000m double at the SA championships in April, but has only been entered for the longer distance in Rio by Athletics South Africa, with national record-holder Elroy Gelant doing the 5 000m.
The Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) athlete also claimed the 10 000m title at the African Championships in Durban in June.
“I wanted to do both of them, but you can’t tell the federation what to do. So, I think my 5k was not good this year because the last time I ran was in the Congo, and it was an Olympic qualifier,” Mokoka told Independent Media on Wednesday before jetting off to London.
“But there was a rule that I had to prove my form this year, and run a qualifier, they would’ve put me in the team. I didn’t do the 5k this year. I was hoping to do the five, but it wasn’t to be.”
What complicated matters for Mokoka is a lack of sponsorship, which made it difficult to do more 5 000m races overseas over the last few months and also with a few more races in the coming weeks. In contrast, Gelant broke Mokoka’s record in Hengelo in The Netherlands with a world-class time of 13:04.88 in May.
“I’m coming back home after London, and I will do some training here. I have a good group and my coach always encourages me to help them,” Mokoka said.
“I wanted to go abroad, but we don’t have sponsorship as my coach is also working. If he goes with me, I have to pay him a salary and his expenses, and I can’t even afford to pay for myself. Unfortunately I am not on the Operation Excellence, so I just have to stay at home and do my thing here.”
But while Farah will attract a lot of home support on Saturday, Mokoka wants to run his own race and not get caught up in the hype. He won’t even be chasing Gelant’s SA 5 000m record, as his coach Michael Seme has insisted that he doesn’t veer off the plan for the 10 000m in Rio.
The 10 000m final takes place on Saturday, August 13 at 9.25pm Brazilian time, and Mokoka hopes that the London Diamond League outing will give him an indication of his form. “Just being able to get a spot is great, as it’s not easy to get a Diamond League spot. I am very happy and excited about getting a spot, that’s the most important thing. The field is good, and I can see on the start-list that all those guys are quicker than me – their times are quicker than mine,” he said.
“So the most important thing for me is to enjoy the race and see how it works out, and it can tell me how far I am with the preparations for the Olympics. I’m just hoping that they have good pacemakers who do a proper job. If they can do that, it’s better. I’m just hoping that the race is not bumpy, because if it’s a nice, quick race, then I can run a good time.”
Mokoka may have to break Hendrick Ramaala’s SA 10 000m record of 27:29.94 to be competitive in Rio. His personal best is 27:40.73, and he is determined to improve on his showing at the 2012 London Olympics, where he ended 49th in the marathon.
“I’ve been to Rio before – I ran a half-marathon in October, and the humid was very high and the conditions were very tough. But my approach will be different as I have been to a few races abroad now, and if the conditions are bad, it’s bad for all of us. I just hope it won’t be so harsh, so that we can run a fast time,” Mokoka said.
“I want to go for something special – if not a good time or medal, at least a good position. It’s my second Olympics and I ended 49th in the marathon in London. I have been to the world championships on three occasions, finishing 20th twice in the 10k, and 13th the other time.
“I just want to break that and get a top 10, which would be great.”
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