Pascalinah Kabi
MASERU — Athletics sensation, Mosito Lehata, is expected to leave the country on Tuesday for a seven-month training camp in Mauritius.
The 22-year-old short distance runner told the Sunday Express that the training stint will help him realise his dream of becoming one of the best athletes in the world.
“I m very thrilled with this opportunity because it will help me to be one of the best athletes in the world,” Lehata said on Friday.
“I have talent but I knew that it was not going to be possible for me to be one of the best in the world if I stayed in the country.”
He said local athletes struggled on the international stage because of lack of facilities and qualified coaches.
“Locally it is not possible to reach one’s full potential because of lack of world-class sporting facilities and qualified coaches.
“Now that I am going to spend seven months in Mauritius I will have all the world-class opportunities that will help me reach my full potential,” Lehata said.
He said he would have a coach assigned to him during his stay in the island country.
He added that he would also participate in a number of competitions and this will help him improve his career.
Lehata said his immediate assignment is to focus on the African Senior Championships scheduled for July 26 to August 1 in Benin.
“I am going to prepare for the African championships as well as qualifying for the London Olympic Games later this year,” he said.
“But this means I will have to work extra hard when I arrive in Mauritius because of the limited time.”
Lesotho Athletics Amateur Association (LAAA) spokesperson, Sejanamane Maphathe, said Lehata was one of the best short distance runners currently making Lesotho proud.
“He is one of the best short distance runners and the residential training camp in Mauritius will help him prepare for the African Senior Championships as well as qualifying for the Olympic Games,” Maphathe said.
He said Lehata was just unlucky in Turkey a fortnight ago when he failed to qualify for the next stage of the competition.
“He registered a national record of seven seconds in the 60 metre-race but failed to qualify because of poor reaction time.”
Maphathe said Lehata’s failure was a technical problem because he was on his own prior to the competition.
“They (athletes) no longer have a coach and he missed something on the technical aspects in his training prior to the competition,” he said.
This is Lehata’s second trip to Mauritius after the LAAA first secured a sponsorship for him and Selloane Tšoaeli last year.
The duo stayed in Mauritius for three months.
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