Rio Olympics hopeful, Tshepo Lefete, is facing challenges in his bid to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics. Lefete, who recently broke the university record for the 110m hurdles, has picked up a thigh injury after running the 200m hurdles at a meeting in Limpopo. The injury threatens his dream of qualifying for the Olympics. “I hurt myself as I was running on the curve. My quad muscle pulled and I had to sit out the race,” he said. Lefete expressed his disappointment as this injury will set him back. However, Lefete is still determined to qualify for Rio, citing that he was getting rehabilitation treatment for his injury.
“I am very close to catching the qualifying time and only need to shave off a quarter of a second to qualify for Rio. I have won all my recent races so far and I really want to go to Rio as this has always been my dream,” said Lefete, who runs for the University of Johannesburg, where he is a student.
Due to Lefete being injured he has had to drop out of the Global Circuit Tour that he would have gone on to at the end of May. He added that he hoped to be fit for the African Championships that take place at the end of June.
“I am mixing my rehabilitation with training to ensure that I am ready for the African Champs. After that I hope to stay injury-free for the rest of the season,” Lefete said. He added that currently the tests he has been conducting indicated that he has to strengthen his glutes, loosen his hips and strengthen his quads. “This is just a minor set-back and I will work even harder than before to realise my dreams,” he elaborated. He added that he was still looking for a sponsor to help him reach his dream to go to the Olympics.
Details: Tshepo Lefete, 076 258 4864.
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