The trio of athletes who represented Lesotho at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games arrived in the country on Tuesday and were welcomed home by the Minister of Sports, Motlatsi Maqelepo, at Moshoeshoe I International Airport. The athletes – Michelle Tau, Mokulubete Makatisi, and Tebello Ramakongoana – will be honoured in an official ceremony in the coming days for their commendable performances in France.
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Lesotho was represented in taekwondo and athletics at the Olympics and despite not bringing home a medal, the athletes’ performances have inspired hope for better results at the next Olympics set to be hosted in Los Angeles, United States, in 2028.
Ramakongoana was the standout performer among the trio, finishing seventh in the men’s 42-kilometre marathon in a new national record time of 2:07:58 hours.
His race was marked by a slow start and he found himself in 60th place at the 5km mark and 70th at the 10km mark. However, he steadily picked up his pace and he reached third place by the 15km mark.
At the halfway point, the 27 year-old Lesotho marathon champion was in 14th place, and he eventually finished seventh in a world-class field.
The gold medal went to Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola who delivered a gritty run to set a new Olympic-record time of 2:06:26, breaking the previous Olympic record set at the 2008 Beijing Games.
Ultimately, Ramakongoana finished just 58 seconds behind Kenya’s Benson Kipruto for the bronze medal as he recorded Lesotho’s best-ever showing at the Olympic Games.
However, Ramakongoana said he could have pushed even harder, and perhaps claim Lesotho’s first-ever Olympic medal, if it were not for a hamstring issue that troubled him three weeks before the Games.
“I tried, but I was not expecting this result. I was hoping for a top-five or top-three finish. Three weeks ago, I had hamstring problems, and my coach told me not to panic. That’s why I supported my hamstring,” he said.
“I could see the possibility of finishing in the top three because I wasn’t tired around the 35km mark. I had told myself I would kick on then, but when I tried to push, that’s when I felt the pain. I decided to maintain my position and finish the race,” Ramakongoana said.
Another strong performer was Ramakongoana’s fellow marathon runner, Mokulubete Makatisi, who achieved a personal best of 2:30:20, finishing 31st in the women’s marathon. Like Ramakongoana, Makatisi had a fluctuating race, initially ranking between 57th and 54th from the 5km to 15km marks. However, she improved significantly at the halfway point, completing the 21km in 1:14:23 and ranking 38th.
Her best placing during the race was 27th at the 40km mark before she dropped four places by the finish line.
The Paris Olympics marathon course forced runners to contend with a series of steep climbs and quad-crushing downhills that made it one of the most difficult marathon courses in the history of the Games.
“The race was tough but I wanted to run at my own pace and enjoy it so that I could finish strong,” Makatisi said.
“I’m improving with every race, and that motivates me — it shows that I’m working hard. Of course, I have to work even harder, but I’m happy to have run 2:30 in such a difficult race. I didn’t expect it,” she added.
“The course was alright, but the hills started at 15km, and at 28km, it became really tough. I want to improve my time, so I’ll recover and prepare for the next races.”
Michelle Tau, the first of the trio to compete in France, finished 11th overall in her weight category in taekwondo.
Despite being knocked out in the round of 16, Tau’s performance, along with those of Ramakongoana and Makatisi, suggests that with better preparation, Team Lesotho could achieve success at the 2028 Olympics, and perhaps a first-ever podium finish.
Tlalane Phahla
