Stephen Mokoka

Born 31 January 1985, Stephen Mokoka is one of the most durable marathon runners in the world, maintaining sub-2:11 fitness across more than 14 consecutive years of competition. He represented South Africa at four Olympic Games: London 2012, Rio de Janeiro 2016, Tokyo 2020, and Paris 2024.

Mokoka holds the South African national record for the half marathon (59:36, set at the 2020 World Road Running Championships in Gdynia), and in March 2022 he set a world record in the 50K road discipline with 2:40:13 at the Nedbank Runified event in Gqeberha. He set a marathon personal best of 2:06:42 in Osaka in February 2023 at age 38. He won the Cape Town Marathon three times (2018, 2021, 2022) and won the Shanghai Marathon twice (2016, 2017).

Mokoka competes for Hollywood Athletics Club under coach Michael Seme and trains from a base in Tshwane. His record of consistent performance at the highest level into his late 30s is without parallel in South African athletics.