Pascalinah Kabi MASERU
— ’Masempe Theko became the slowest swimmer in the 50-metre freestyle
competition when she came last at the Olympics Games on Friday. The
25-year-old swimmer finished last in 42 seconds 35 mini-seconds, almost five
seconds after her competitors. Up
against 15-year-old Nattissatou Moussa Adamou from Niger and 12-yar-old
Togolese Adzo Kpossi in heat one, Theko could not keep up with her younger
competitors’ speed and settled for the wooden spoon. This
means her dreams of winning Lesotho’s first Olympic Games medal since the
country began participating in 1972 have been shattered. Adamou
came first in 37.29 while Kpossi was second in 37.55.
On
a brighter side, Theko’s performance means that she has improved her swimming
time by almost seven seconds. Before
the competition, Theko’s personal best was 49.75. Meanwhile,
Lesotho’s golden girl, ‘’Mamoroallo Tjoka, will this morning compete in the
42.2-kilometre marathon in the Olympic Games in London. Tjoka
will be the second competitor from Team Lesotho to compete at the games as she looks to win the country’s
first medal. Armed
with her last Olympic Games experience in 2008, regional, continental and
global exposure, the 27-year-old is Lesotho’s best hope for a medal. Tjoka came second in
the 42.2-kilometre marathon at the Edinburgh Marathon Festival in Scotland in
May.
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