This story is featured as part of SUCCEED Stories, through the SUCCEED Framework. SUCCEED (Supporting Communities Empowerment & Development through Sport for All) is a global framework dedicated to fostering community empowerment and development through capacity building in Sport for All. Led by TAFISA in collaboration with the IOC through its Olympism365 strategy, SUCCEED aims to provide a unified and synergistic approach towards building the capacity of Sport for All stakeholders.
Motlomelo Mareitumetse - known as Mrs Tlome - didn't come to boxing young. She came to it later in life, through something as simple as daily exercise. What followed was a journey that took her from the edges of a male-dominated sport to the role of referee, judge, and Women's Commission member at the Lesotho Boxing Association.
Entering a world that wasn't built for her wasn't without resistance. But it was through the Girls Positive and Safe Coaching Pathway that something deeper shifted - not just in her knowledge, but in how she sees the athletes she works with. She came to understand that the struggles athletes carry from home, school, and community don't stay outside the gym. They come in with them. And that a coach's job is as much about awareness and empathy as it is about sport.
"Zeal without knowledge can be dangerous," she reflects. "True impact requires professional boundaries, legal awareness, and the ability to work alongside medical and psychological experts."
Her vision is wide: boxing in every district of Lesotho, more women in coaching and leadership, and safeguarding embedded in sport from the earliest ages.
Read her full story here.
