Defending champ Mokoka shrugs off pressure of Cape Town Marathon title: 'It's about having fun'

Defending champion Stephen Mokoka is prepared for the challenge of Sunday's new-look Sanlam Cape Town Marathon.

Mokoka is one of some 13 000 athletes expected to run in the 42.2km elite race as it makes its debut as an Abbott World Marathon Majors (WMM) candidate. 

WMM races are part of World Athletics and feature six annual major marathon races - Boston, London, New York, Tokyo, Chicago and Berlin Marathons.

The Cape Town Marathon has been revamped as a WMM candidate in its first year of a three-long evaluation as the African race competes with Australia's Sydney Marathon and China's Chengdu Marathon for the seventh spot.

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Mokoka will be flying the South African flag in Cape Town as one of the favourites heading into this weekend's festivities.

The three-time Olympian set a Cape Town Marathon record of 2:08.31 in 2018 and, in March this year, Mokoka broke the 50km men's world record at the Runified Breaking Barriers Ultra Marathon in Gqeberha, setting a time of 2:40:13, which World Athletics recognised.

Mokoka, who missed July's World Athletics Championship due to injury, says that he has prepared as best as he could and will adapt to the unpredictable Cape Town weather.

"You have to put all the components together, so you can't change nature, so if there is wind, you have to go through that process. It can be cold, hot or raining, you have to go through the process," Mokoka told News24 Sport on Friday.

"If you prepare for a marathon, you're up for any challenge to face it at the end of the day because that's what we put ourselves through."

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