Mokoka is aiming for seventh heaven

Stephen Mokoka wants to erase the foul taste of defeat when he returns to the FNB10K City Run through Johannesburg’s city centre on Sunday morning.

The double Olympian ended seventh in the inaugural race last year‚ one of his worst performances on home soil.

And this time around he says he is ready to conquer Constitutional Hill‚ which comes on the second half of the race.

“The route is tough‚ especially Constitutional Hill‚” Mokoka said at a pre-race function on Friday morning.

Before last year he had ended no worse than sixth in the country — including at the 2011 African cross-country championships in Cape Town — for a decade.

The last time he did worse was his ninth spot in the 10,000m at the SA championships in Port Elizabeth in 2006.

“It was one of my worst positions in South Africa‚” said Mokoka‚ 32.

“Last year I finished seventh so I’m hoping to run closer to one. It was not my day ... I’m hoping Sunday is my day.”

The difference between victory and running seventh on Sunday will be R20,000‚ with the winning man and woman pocketing R25,000 compared to R5,000 six places back.

Second place is worth R13,000 and third R10,000.

Mokoka has trained properly this time around. “I’m not a person who likes hills but this year I’m prepared for them.”

Rio Olympian Sibusiso Nzima remembers how tough it was in 2016‚ when he ended third.

“The first half was flat and the second half is difficult‚” he said‚ warning that people who took it out hard early on would pay the price later.

Lebogang Phalula‚ the defending women’s champion from last year‚ recalled how her twin‚ Lebo‚ collapsed after finishing fourth.

“Last year my sister collapsed so I’ll make Glenrose [Xaba] collapse [this time].”

Xaba‚ who recently won the women’s SA 4km and 10km cross-country crowns‚ is hoping to break 34 minutes.

Most of the 13,500 entrants‚ however‚ won’t be as concerned about time.

The course and the altitude mean it won’t be as quick as the Durban 10K next month.

From next year organisers plan to make a series out of these two races along with the 12km event in Cape Town.