The great Don King would have approved. Such was the nature of the pre-race media conference for the TotalSports Two Oceans Marathon taking place Saturday morning it could well have been an event organised by the revered boxing promoter for one of his major tournaments.
The main protagonists talked up their chances, with defending champion Onalenna Khonkhobe speaking tough as a title holder should.
“My training is going well and yes I learnt a lot of things from my win last year. Two Oceans is a race for me because this is my show,” the Nedbank Running Club star said in his inimitable way before adding his trademark phrase “I am the head of the table.”
The young man from Taung in the North West province then looked at the men flanking him – one of them a winner of the race two years ago Givemore Mudzinganyama, while the other two have previously finished as runner-up, Nkosikhona Mhlakwana (2022) and Lloyd Nosman (2024) – and delivered a dare.
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“I respect my brothers, so don’t panic. But this channel 209 (on SuperSport where the race will be broadcast), this is my channel for tomorrow. I am ready for everything, I have more confidence and more strength and more everything. Everyone will acknowledge me as the tribal chief,” the athlete who also won the Soweto Marathon last year declared.
Intriguingly it was not the previous finishers who responded to Khonkhobe’s bold predictions but rather an athlete who should have probably been a bit wary given his Two Oceans experience. Stephen Mokoka might be a legend of South African running having been champion in just about every conceivable distance on the track, in cross-country and road. He is a four-time Olympian and a world championships competitor many times over too.
But he is a rookie in the ultras and last year he saw flames in his Two Oceans debut, the Hollywood Athletic Club superstar bailing out late in the race. He has learnt from that experience and is all the wiser now and sounded like a man on a mission.
“People think transitioning from marathons to ultra is easy, no it is not easy. And for me it is a privilege to be invited here again, I am grateful for the opportunity because as an athlete if you don’t do well sometimes they don’t call you back.”
He then turns his focus to Khonkhone: “It is the first time in South Africa that I find myself sitting with confident people like this. Listening to the young man saying ‘this is my table’, I like the confidence because it shows he is ready to back up his story. Most times people play their cards close to their chest. I accept the challenge. You are telling us about how you are going to dominate, hopefully the confidence that you have, you are going to bring it to the race.”
Those in the house cheered loudly, clearly aware that the battle lines had been drawn and we could well be in for a thrilling race.
Do not, however, misconstrue this to mean we are in for a two-man race. Far from it, because apart from the other three who sat on “Khonhkobe’s table’, there are other top athletes who have it in them to become champions Saturday morning.
This one has the makings of a race for the ages, the kind that the great Don King would salivate at promoting.