Running for Rio
AUCKLAND PARK – 110m Hurdles runner Tshepo Lefete has firmly set his sights on the Rio Olympics and is determined to come back with a medal.
Tshepo Lefete has firmly set his sight on winning a medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics and is working towards his goal every day.
Lefete (24) who is a first-year risk management student at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) recently broke the university record for the 110m hurdles and smashed the record with 000:13:72 at the first leg of the Varsity Athletics Meeting. The runner said that he has been doing hurdles since the age of 10 years and since then he has been working towards his dream of being an international top athlete.
“When I was in high school I did not have a coach but I knew that I wanted to win a medal at Nationals. When finally I won a medal, it prompted me to continue with hurdles because I could see that I had potential,” he said.
Lefete described his journey as a hurdles runner as one filled with many challenges which he overcame by focusing on his future goals of being a professional athlete.
“I started running for the University of Pretoria in my first year whilst completing my qualifications in sports sciences and this took me through several competitions and injuries I suffered,” he added.
Lefete who hails from the Free State pointed out that last year he wanted to run the South African off season in Europe where he could continue keeping fit while improving his game but could not go due to a lack of funds.
“The sport must open up because there are many good athletes who want to go on to be great athletes but because of a lack of funding and sponsorship we end up being stranded once we are no longer running for our respective varsities,” he lamented.
“My ultimate goal is the Rio Olympics and I have a strong belief that I will make it. I am working hard doing everything I have to do. My coach at the moment is in Pretoria and it is a bit of struggle going there twice a week but there are very few hurdles coaches in South Africa. Hopefully this will change one day,” Lefete explained.
With four more races to get through, he added that he had a few seconds to shave off his current running time which would ensure his place at the Olympics and at the moment it was his main focus.
Details: Tshepo Lefete 076 258 4864
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UJ hurdles runner breaks university record
