It took blood, sweat, and tears for hard-working middle-distance sensation Precious Mashele to qualify for his maiden Olympic Games.
Mashele had six failed attempts in his quest to book his ticket to the Olympics, as he could not run the standard qualifying time of 13:13:50.
However, the 30-year-old runner from Limpopo refused to give up and kept on trying until he made it on the final day. Mashele clocked 13:11:61 on the cutoff date at the Kings Park Stadium in Durban on Tuesday night to qualify for the Olympics at the last minute. The runner did it with the help of pacesetters Ryan Mphahelele and Nkhosinati Sibiya.
His coach Hendrick Ramaala and ASA boss hailed him for his never-say-die attitude. Mashele told Sowetan that he did not sleep on Tuesday night as he fielded calls and hundreds of text messages congratulating him on his big day.
“I would like to thank the coaches Ramaala and Mdu Khumalo. The pacesetters Mbuleli Mathanga, Ryan Mphalele, and Nkosinathi Sibiya. I would not have done this if ASA did not organise a race for me. I feel special. I needed pacesetters, and ASA delivered. I cannot believe that I have done it. It feels like a dream," said Mashele.
Mashele said the conditions did not allow him to run his race at other events with rain, wind, and sometimes the scorching heat.
“Two pacesetters ran three laps, and the other did it for two laps. I then took over the rest of the race and did it. I cannot believe it, and everything feels like a dream," said Mashele.
Ramaala said: “I pushed him hard, and he did it. He never stopped believing that he can do this."
ASA boss James Moloi said Mashele showed that hard work and perseverance pay off in the end. “We organised races for him, and he kept on pushing until the final day. He forced his way into the Olympic team through his hard work. We are happy for him," said Moloi.
Mashele makes Olympic dream come true
Runner qualifies on final day
It took blood, sweat, and tears for hard-working middle-distance sensation Precious Mashele to qualify for his maiden Olympic Games.
Mashele had six failed attempts in his quest to book his ticket to the Olympics, as he could not run the standard qualifying time of 13:13:50.
However, the 30-year-old runner from Limpopo refused to give up and kept on trying until he made it on the final day. Mashele clocked 13:11:61 on the cutoff date at the Kings Park Stadium in Durban on Tuesday night to qualify for the Olympics at the last minute. The runner did it with the help of pacesetters Ryan Mphahelele and Nkhosinati Sibiya.
His coach Hendrick Ramaala and ASA boss hailed him for his never-say-die attitude. Mashele told Sowetan that he did not sleep on Tuesday night as he fielded calls and hundreds of text messages congratulating him on his big day.
“I would like to thank the coaches Ramaala and Mdu Khumalo. The pacesetters Mbuleli Mathanga, Ryan Mphalele, and Nkosinathi Sibiya. I would not have done this if ASA did not organise a race for me. I feel special. I needed pacesetters, and ASA delivered. I cannot believe that I have done it. It feels like a dream," said Mashele.
Mashele said the conditions did not allow him to run his race at other events with rain, wind, and sometimes the scorching heat.
“Two pacesetters ran three laps, and the other did it for two laps. I then took over the rest of the race and did it. I cannot believe it, and everything feels like a dream," said Mashele.
Ramaala said: “I pushed him hard, and he did it. He never stopped believing that he can do this."
ASA boss James Moloi said Mashele showed that hard work and perseverance pay off in the end. “We organised races for him, and he kept on pushing until the final day. He forced his way into the Olympic team through his hard work. We are happy for him," said Moloi.