Mokoena aims for comeback in KZNA presidential race

FORMER KwaZulu-Natal Athletics (KZNA) president Sello Mokoena is preparing for another bid for the top position at the athletics body, just as he did for countless races during his running career.

- ROWAN CALLAGHAN

"I've been a runner all my life, for 40 years at least, and I always started a race confident that I'd win - and in most cases, I did," he said.

There are cases where I didn't win, and those are very rare. If I didn't win, I went back, I prepared, and I came back again. Elections are exactly the same.

"In terms of our campaigning in the districts, we don't expect much competition. We think we're likely to win."

Mokoena was elected KZNA president in 2012 and served for seven years before stepping down in 2019. The regional athletics federation was without a leader for two years, having been placed under Athletics South Africa (ASA) administration during a tumultuous period.

Steve Mkasi succeeded Mokoena after winning the elections in 2021 and is now bidding for a second term. The fact that Mokoena did not serve two full consecutive four-year terms leaves the door open for a return to the presidency.

The veteran administrator and former dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of KwaZulu-Natal said he had been approached by clubs urging him to consider returning.