July 29, 2002

Manchester, England – Just out of medal contention, South Carolina’s Otukile Lekote finished fourth in the 800m at the Commonwealth Games today in Manchester, England.

Lekote ran a 1:47.04 as the winner, Mbulaeni Mulaudzi of Kenya, finished in 1:46.32. (see top five results below).

“Fourth place is pretty good, but I am sure Otukile would like to have medaled,” said USC distance coach Stan Rosenthal. “He ran a good race, but got passed in the last 40 meters. He’s had a great year and this summer has been a wonderful learning experience for him as he prepares to make Botswana’s Olympic team in 2004. He has represented the University of South Carolina very well this season and we look forward to his continued improvement both on the NCAA level and on the international level in the next year.”

The top five in the 800m at the Commonwealth Games: Rank Name Country Time 1 MULAUDZI Mbulaeni South Africa 1:46.32 2 MUTUA Joseph Kenya 1:46.57 3 McCARTHY Kris Australia 1:46.79 4 LEKOTE Otukile Botswana 1:47.04 5 KIMUTAI Japhet Kenya 1:47.46