Namakoe Nkhasi (born 10 January 1993) is a

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength. Within e ...

who competes in distances from

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stan ...

to the

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcu ...

. He represented his country at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

. He was the bronze medallist in the

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The race ...

at the

African Championships in Athletics The African Championships in Athletics is a continental athletics event organized by the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA), the continental association for the sport in Africa. Since its inaugural edition in 1979 it was at first organised ...

in 2016. He is the Lesotho national record holder for the 5000 metres, 10000 metres and 10km road race. Nkhasi began taking part in South African races in 2013. He took his first prominent victory there in 2016, with a win at the

Two Oceans Half Marathon The Two Oceans Marathon is a 56 km / 35-mile ultramarathon and 21 km half-marathon held annually in Cape Town, South Africa on the Saturday of the Easter weekend. Known globally as "the world's most beautiful marathon",Hamlett, Alison ...

. He gained his first international selection for Lesotho for the

2016 African Championships in Athletics The 20th African Championships in Athletics was held in Durban, South Africa from 22 to 26 June 2016. It was the second time that Durban and South Africa hosted this competition. 720 athletes from 43 African national federations participated. Meda ...

and delivered

national records National Records was a record label that was started in New York City by Albert Green in 1945 and lasted until early 1951. Big Joe Turner was signed at the beginning and remained until 1947. Billy Eckstine was also a big seller for the label as w ...

of 13:21.68 minutes for the 5000 m and 28:06.33 minutes for the 10,000 m. He took sixth in the 5000 m and was a bronze medallist in the 10,000 m. He was chosen to represent Lesotho at the 2016 Summer Olympics and ran in the 5000 m heats only. In 2017, Nkhasi won the Port Elizabeth 10km in 28:40 - a feat he repeated in 2018, when he won in 28:32. In 2017, he also won the Port Alfred Half marathon in a personal best time of 1:03:05. Nkhasi opened his 2019 season at the Gyeonggi-Do Half Marathon in South Korea, where he placed second, running 1:02:59. This was a personal best at the time. Nkhasi's 2020 season was curtailed by the

COVID-19 Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, but he returned in 2021 to run a half-marathon personal best of 1:02:19 at the

Nelson Mandela Bay Half Marathon Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

, in Port Elizabeth. He was 12th in the race. In 2022, Nkhasi improved to win the Nelson Mandela Bay Half Marathon in 1:01:01 - his current personal best at the distance. He was also second at the ABSA RYC Durban 10K in 27:52, also a personal best time.

Personal bests

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

– 3:49.72 min (2013) *

– 13:21.68 min (2016) *

– 28:06.33 min (2016) *

10K run 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...

– 27:52 min (2022) *

Half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcu ...

– 1:01:01 min (2022) *

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

- 2:19:21 (2021) All information from World Athletics profile.

International competitions

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nkhasi, Namakoe Living people 1993 births Lesotho male long-distance runners Olympic athletes for Lesotho Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics