Molopo on Makwala’s athletic gift

Molopo identified and unearthed Makwala’s athletic talent. The coach attended the launch of ‘The Solo Runner’ on Tuesday at the Mascom Innovation Hub in Phakalane. Molopo told Mmegi Sport that he met Makwala at the Brigade and he had a passion for running.

“I realised that he had the abilities and passion while others could not see that he had the potential of going far in athletics. I analysed him after seeing his potential. Despite not having trained as a coach that did not stop me from working with him. I did research online and used the material to train him. We did that and he was corporative. When I set time for training, he showed up,” he said. Molopo was able to establish that Makwala’s height and strides were suitable for 400m than his initial focus on 200m. Molopo said he wanted to see Makwala joining the national team. He explained that he had been following athletics for some time and realised that some athletes were not performing at their best. Molopo said Makwala had something special and it was going to be easy for him to join the national team.