Moorosi Tsiane
IT’S back to the drawing board for four Pump Track Riders who found the going tough at the Redbull Pump Track World Qualifiers in Pretoria yesterday.
Only Khothalang Leuta salvaged some respect reaching the knock-out phase and came out fifth, two spots shy from the qualifying third place.
Meanwhile, it was a tough day for Leuta’s teammates Kopano Matobo, Meke Mapanya, Molefi Ntoko and Mosito Mohapi, who were all knocked out in the preliminary stages of the qualifiers in the male category.
Ntoko, Mapanya, Matobo and Leuta were vying for spots in the October finals penned in for Switzerland while Mohapi has already qualified after winning a competition in Roma in March this year.
The stage proved to be too tough for the locals who all seemed to be jittery in their debut appearance in international competitions.
Leuta said she was happy with her results adding that she would take home immense lessons and hope to do better next time.
“It was a thrilling experience for me especially because this was my first time competing at this stage,” Leuta said.
“I am happy with the exposure that I got and will surely come back a better athlete next time.”
Mohapi also said he was happy with the experience as he got a feel of what the stage in Switzerland would be like.
“I was only here as part of my preparations for the finals and I am happy because I have gained exposure and got a feel of what is like to compete with the best. However, there is still lot of work that we need to do but hopefully by October I will be ready and would have improved,” he said.
The team’s head of delegation Tumelo Makhetha also said he was satisfied with what he saw but said there is still a lot of room for improvement.
“I am happy because this was the athlete’s first time here. They have gained some exposure and that is important but there is still a room left for improvement.
“The track here is longer than ours so it was always going to be a challenge for our riders but they showed character, so I am happy,” Makhetha said.
Kane Herbert and Georgina Grissie won in the male and female categories respectively.